Transforming The Universe
by Dalek Prime
Summary: The Decepticons have discovered an ancient Gem machine that could could give them total domination across the galaxy and they'll crush anyone who stands between them and their victory to have it. Now the Autobots and the Crystal Gems must unite despite their shared distrust of one another if they are to stop Megatron from achieving his goal of conquest over the universe.
1. To make an Army

A/N: I don't own Steven Universe or Transformers

* * *

Chapter One: To make an Army

* * *

The Kindergarten.

Once it was a place a where Gems were spawned for their war effort across the stars, but now it stands abandoned and damaged; left alone like a bad memory as those who shut it down would prefer to remember it. The facility would been left as it was, however in the past few weeks certain events caused the Kindergarten to become a place of personal interest for not only those who had constructed it, but other otherworldly conquerors. Over the skies above the canyon, a trio of multi-colored jets circled the area, after days of following a faint energy signature, they had found the source.

Like the Gems, these newcomers had arrived on Earth from another world; however they did not arrive here by choice. They came to this world when their own was dying after eons of civil war had ravaged it of its natural resources. They did not come to this world alone, their enemies who believed in peace and justice had followed them here and once again their conflict was reignited, but the leader of this band of conquerors believed that whatever was in this canyon may hold the key to their victory over those who had opposed them for so long.

"The energy readings seem to be emanating from this area" Starscream said to his fellow seekers as they flew over head the canyon "Lets land and get a closer look"

For the past several weeks, the Decepticons had been investigating the sudden influx of strange energy readings that where coming from space. At first it was passing interest, since their war with the Autobots was occupying their focus, but after the day where the Earth's entire the ocean was pulled in a massive tower that was reaching up to the heavens, the Decepticons became quit intrigued to learn what exactly was going on and more to the point how could they use such power to crush their enemies before they could do the same to them. Their research had finally leaded them to this birthplace of so many warriors for the Gem war machine.

"You were right Starscream, it is a Kindergarten!" the fellow seeker known as Skywarp said as they transformed into their robot modes before landing on the ground

"Of course I was right you fool!" the Air Commander snapped "as I told our 'glorious' leader, we've been following the energy signatures of Gems all this time!"

"Great, Gems are on Earth to?" Thundercracker said with disgust "The Autobots and humans were bad enough, but now we gotta deal with those freaks again?"

"The Gems may have been on Earth before, but judging by the damaged state of these machines, they either left this planet or died off long ago" Starscream concluded as he inspected one of the machines "Personally, I'm hoping for the second theory to be true"

"What does the boss see in this junk anyway?" Thundercracker asked his fellow seekers

"An opportunity" a cold voice replied darkly from above

The trio of robots heads quickly shot up and saw their leader Megatron descending down from the sky with Soundwave at his side.

"Theses machines may be damaged, but they can still be of use to me" the warlord continued "Soundwave, scan the area for any working technology in this area"

"_**Scan commencing**_" the Decepticon communications officer said as he began his task "_**confirmed, functioning Gem technology exactly twenty meters west of our current location**_"

The group of warriors headed toward the location where Soundwave had detected the operating device and sure enough they quickly found it. The tech in question was a strange green square-shaped platform. After ordering Skywarp and to stand guard at the entrance and for Thundercracker to scout the rest of area, Megatron proceeded to the lower levels with Starscream and Soundwave. Once they reached the underbelly of the Kindergarten, the Decepticons came upon what appeared to be the facility's main control room.

The warlord's two officers went right to work to attempt to reactivate the system, however try as the might; they could not find a way to turn the once great machine back online.

"Its useless Megatron, this machinery is far too old and damaged to be useful to anyone!" Starscream said in frustration "And besides, even if we could bring the system back online it would still be useless to us; we hardly have any knowledge as to how to use Gem technology"

Megatron's response to that was a strong backhand that sent the Air Commander falling to the floor.

"I will not tolerate whining from my troops" he warned as he pointed his Fusion Cannon at his second in command's face "Least of all from you!"

Suddenly, a screen activated above them, surprising the trio of machines. At first the screen was merely static for several seconds, then without warning the image of a strange green skinned woman appeared on it, looking rather displeased.

"Who's trying to break into my network?!" the woman demanded "This will not be-"

Her words ceased to come out of her mouth she saw who exactly was in the Kindergarten's control room. Her expression changed from angry to shocked, clearly not happy to see Cybertronians standing before her-least of all Megatron.

"What are you doing here?!" she said surprise "There where no reports of Cybertronians on Earth even when the Gems had control of the planet!"

"Control? Bah! You Gems couldn't control androids at a picnic!" Starscream mocked as he attempted to get back on his feet

"Silence!" his master commanded, kicking him back down as he did

"I'll ask again, what are you doing on this planet?" the Gem questioned again

"We are doing what we Decepticons have always done: conquering it!" Megatron declared "Clearly, we have the same goal for this backwater world"

"I would choose you words very carefully Megatron!" the Gem snapped back, clearly taking Megatron aback by that "Yes, I know who you are, the warlord of Kaon who stopped the Gem invasion of Cybertron a millennia ago"

"Because Cybertron is mine alone to rule!" Megatron shot back before taking on a calm demeanor "However, I'm willing to overlook our two species past conflicts if we can form a brief truce to take control of this world together"

"Meaning what exactly?" the Gem questioned with a hint of intrigue in her voice

"If you help me reactivate this Kindergarten, I will in turn give you an army that will wipe the humans and anyone else in our path off this planet" the warlord explained "Then we will be able to gather up enough Energon to leave this place and return to Cybertron while your people will have not only a new planet under your rule, but also an army to extend your empire to whatever galaxy you see fit"

The Gem began to mull over the robot's proposal in her head, after several silent seconds she finally came to a conclusion.

"Very well, I agree to the terms, but I will inform my people of this temporary alliance" she answered "However in the meantime, Peridot, at your service"

Just then, Megatron received a transmission from one of his soldiers outside of the control room.

"Lord Megatron, I've discovered something" Thundercracker informed his leader via com-link "It looks like some kind of teleportation pad"

"A Gem Warp-Pad?!" Peridot, who was able to hear the Con's words, nearly shouted in shock "So that's how they managed to find this place!"

"Who's 'they'?" Starscream questioned, now back to his feet

"The Crystal Gems" the Gem replied "Their the ones who shut down this facility and then recently damaged the control room"

"So it would seem Gems have their own inner conflict as well" the Decepticon second in command noted with a smirk "That sounds _very_ familiar"

"It matters not, we'll crush them as well" Megatron stated, balling up his fist to get the point across "But for now, our main focus should be restoring power to the Kindergarten"

"The sooner the better" Peridot added "This system is incredibly old, it's hard to tell how much longer it will be able function properly"

the warlord nodded in understanding before he turned his soldiers in order to give them their assignments .

"Starscream, take Skywarp and Thundercracker and collect enough Energon stockpiled at our base to refuel the system" he ordered "Soundwave, you will follow the warp-pad's energy trail back to its point of origin and destroy these Crystal Gems; I will send reinforcements to you as soon as I can"

"_**As you command Lord Megatron**_" Soundwave acknowledged

"And just what are you going to do?" the Air Commander asked his leader with a sneer

"Aside from resisting the urge to rip out your audio processors, I need to make a call to Cybertron" he answered with a sneer of his own "If we are to succeed in our plan, then this place is going to require an upgrade and I know just the Con who can do that"

"You don't mean-"

"Oh I do"

"What are you talking about?" Peridot asked sharply, not happy being left out of the conversation

"Let's just say you'll be getting a new lab partner shortly" Megatron replied before turning back to his minions "Now go and do not fail me!"

With that, the Decepticons began to carry out their master's orders, however unknown to them a pair of interlopers where currently spying on them. Like the Decepticons, their enemies were also fallowing the trail of strange events that lead them to this place, knowing that Megatron and his warriors would use this wicked place for their own nefarious cause.

"This looks bad Bee" Cliffjumper mentioned to his friend as the two scouts hide behind a pile of boulders "The Cons could create an entire army outta all this stuff!"

"You can say that again Cliff" Bumblebee said "Come on, we gotta warn Prime"

The two Autobots then transformed into their vehicle modes and sped off back their home base, hoping to warn their leader of their enemy's newest scheme before they could unfold. Suddenly a laser blast hit the ground in front of them from above, knocking them of off their tires from the force of the blast. The Autobots quickly changed back into their robot forms to see Starscream and his fellow seekers descending from the sky in their robot forms.

"Going somewhere?" he asked wickedly

"B-but how did you-" Cliffjumper attempted to say

"You Autobots are pathetically predictable!" the Air Commander interrupted "Laserbeak spotted you two halfway here; we've been leading you to your doom this whole time!"

"You won't get away with this!" Bumblebee declared

"Maybe we will and maybe we won't" Starscream replied as he pointed his null ray cannon at his foe "But you two won't be around to find out"

One shot from his cannon was all it took to make Bee's optics go black.


	2. Soundwave and Fury

A/N: I should've put this in the first chapter, but this story is set between 'Marble Madness' and 'Rose's scabbard'

* * *

Chapter Two: Soundwave and Fury

* * *

"Cool boombox Sadie, where did you find it?" Steven asked his teenage friend

It started out as a normal day for Steven in Beach City (Well normal by his life's standards anyway) he was currently with Connie at the Donut Shop, introducing her to the wonders of the sugary treats as he called it. When they stepped inside the building, the half-Gem spotted a strange looking boombox sitting on the counter next to Sadie and in typical Steven fashion; he just had to know the story behind it. The boombox in question had a dark blue color to it with a bit of dark yellow trim to it, but the design that made it really stick out was the strange purple head that was like some sort of monster at the center of the stereo, sending chills down Connie's spin.

"Beats me, Lars just found it sitting in front of the shop when we we're opening up" she answered him "We thought it belonged to Sour Cream, but he said it wasn't his when he came by earlier"

"The thing's a piece of junk anyway; it doesn't play any discs or get any stations" Lars mentioned as he sorted out the donuts at the front of the counter

"It kinda looks like one of my dad's old stereo's he used to keep in storage" Steven said as he closely examined the device "Come to think of it; he had six of these in there"

"It looks kind of old; do they even this make type of model anymore?" Connie commented

"Sadie would you just throw that thing away already?" the disgruntle teen asked sharply

"Ok, ok" she answered as she picked up the boombox as headed toward trash can

"Wait! I'll take it!" Steven offered, already taking machine out of Sadie's hands as he did

"Why in the world would you want that dumb old thing?" Lars asked snidely

"Maybe my dad can fix it" the boy answered "He's good with sound stuff, I'm sure he could have this thing drop some funky beats in no time!"

"I don't know Steven; I've got a bad feeling about that thing" Connie admitted "I think we should just throw it out"

"Come on Connie, since when has music hurt anyone?" Steven replied with an innocent laugh

Connie still remained unsure about keeping the boombox, but during the time she had spent with him, the young girl quickly learned that it was hard to change Steven's mind once he made a decision. After buying donut for both Connie and himself, the two kids headed off to continue their day. As they did, they hardly noticed a trio of cars that where parked in a row on the opposite of the street, as did everyone else who passed them by, the three cars in question where a red van with yellow pin-strips on both sides, a white Porsche with blue pin-strips running down the middle of it and a blue and a black and white Police Car.

"Well look who it is" the Porsche said to the other cars he was in-between as he watched the kids walk off with the boombox "If it ain't Mr. bad music himself"

"No doubt about it Jazz, that's Soundwave alright" Prowl replied "You think he had anything to do with Cliff and Bee's disappearance?"

"There ain't no need to think about it Prowl, we know he did!" Ironhide suddenly cut in sharply "an' we're gonna make him tell us where they are or I swear I'm gonna send his aft straight to the pit!"

It had been three days since their fellow Autobots Bumblebee and Cliffjumper had reported in from their mission in discovering the Decepticons latest plans and their leader was becoming increasingly concerned by the mysterious disappearance, as a result, Ironhide, Jazz and Prowl where tasked with finding them, with their leader soon joining them as well. The trio where sent to the last know location of the missing scouts; a little beachside town by the name of Beach City. The rescue team had only arrived in the town overnight and they had already noticed that this town was rather strange. The trio had discovered that this town was littered with the battle scars of battles clearly not made by humans and the strange part was that no one seemed to mind it.

"So what's the plan 'Hide?" Prowl asked "Should we wait for Prime?"

"It looks like he didn't notice us, so we keep a low profile f'er now" Ironhide replied "But the second he makes a move, so do we"

* * *

Steven and Connie had attempted to get Greg to take a look at the boombox, but he was to busy at the carwash after Yellowtail had to once again tried to fit his boat in the building, which of course led it to become stuck once more. The two kids then decided to head back to the temple until Steven's dad could figure out the situation; however Connie still had her doubts about the boombox, still sensing something wrong with it.

"I still think we should've left that thing with Lars and Sadie" she admitted to her friend "It's kinda creepy"

"I think it looks kinda cool" Steven replied "Besides it's just a boombox Connie, it's more or less harmless"

"'More or less?'" Connie repeated with concern in her voice

"Yeah, you could get your finger caught in the tape deck, that's hurts" the portly boy explained "How you could drop the whole thing or your foot, that's pretty painful to, but as long we don't do those things I think we'll be good"

As they walked up to the temple, they saw Pearl step out of the beach house.

"Hey Pearl, look what Connie and I found!" he called out to her as he held the boombox for her to see from afar

At first Pearl was merely going to say that the little machine Steven had brought home was nice and go about her business, but then she saw the emblem on the small machine and her mind stopped out of pure horror at the sight before her. She then quickly summoned her weapon jumped down to face Steven and her friend.

"Steven, put that—thing down and get away from it right now!" she ordered

"Pearl what are you doing?! It's just an old boombox!" Steven defended

"Garnet! Amethyst! Get out here!" the Gem shouted, ignoring Steven as she did

Upon hearing Pearl's cry for aid, the other two Crystal Gems quickly bolted out of the beach house in order to help their friend.

"Pearls what's the matter?" Garnet asked before seeing the boombox "Oh no…"

The two Gems activated their weapons as well and rushed to Pearl's side.

"Steven—what's going on?!" Connie demanded now getting scared

"I don't know, they don't act like this around the TV!" the portly boy answered

"Steven, put that machine down and get over here this instant!" Garnet commanded

"But why? I don't-"the half-Gem attempted to question

"_**Targets acquired**_" the boombox suddenly spoke up in a deep robotic voice "_**Soundwave, Transform!**_"

Steven and Connie let out shriek in surprise as the boy dropped the boombox. The kids then rushed over to the Gems as the machine began to grow in size as it began to twist and morph into entirely new begin until finally a giant robot stood before them.

"It's a Decepticon!" Garnet shouted in horror

"A Decepti-what?" Connie asked in a panic

"And not just any Decepticon, its Soundwave!" Pearl added on with terror in her voice

"Pearl, get Steven and Connie out of here, we'll hold him off!" their leader commanded

Before the son of Rose Quartz could say anything on the matter, Pearl had already scooped both him and his friend in her arms and attempted to run off to hid the children somewhere safe, however Soundwave saw to it that was not to be.

"_**Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, eject!**_" he commanded as he pressed a button on his chest.

The robot's chest opened up and shot out three large cassette tape that transformed into a trio of smaller robots in mid-air before landing before the Gems. Two of the Robots where the size and shape of humans while the third looked like a metallic black panther.

"_**Destroy all Gems!**_" the larger robot ordered

Pearl attempted to once again get the children to safety, but the robotic panther pounced at her, however a pink mass of fur rushed beside her and tackled it to the ground.

"Lion!" Steven cheered

Steven's pet snarled at the machine called Ravage under his claws; however he was knocked back by one strong swipe of Ravage's own claws. Pearl took this opportunity to escape with Steven and Connie, but Soundwave gave chase by flying after them. Garnet tried to draw the robot's attention away from Pearl, but Rumble grabbed her and threw her into the sand.

"Where do you think your going?" he sneered

"Right through you" Garnet coolly replied

Rumble's arms then morphed into a pair of hydraulic hammers as he rushed at the red Gem. His hammer collided with on of her gauntlets, cuaseing a shockwave that knocked them both backwards in the opposite directions. Both the Gem and the Dcepticon quickly recovered and lunged at one another once more. Garnet ducked the oncoming hammers and delivered another powerful blow to her enemy's chest that knocked the smaller Con to the ground. She attempted to finish him off, but Rumbled turned one of his arms back to its original form and grabbed the Gem by the ankle and hurled her into the side of the cliff. Before Garnet could recover, her opponent rushed over and began to pummel her deeper into the Cliffside with his hammers. With all the strength she could muster, Garnet punched the machine in the face, dazing him long enough for her tackle him into the sand and continue to beat him senseless. Rumble head-butted the Gem off his person and tackled her once more.

While Garnet was busy throwing down with Rumble, Amethyst was busy clashing with Frenzy, who was busy evading his punches. She hurled her whip at him, only for the Decepticon to grab it in mid-air.

"Come here!" he snarled

"No, you get over here!" the shorter Gem shot back

Amethyst yanked her whip back, sending Frenzy flying forward right into the Gem's fist, nearly knocking every circuit loose in his body from the blow. The smaller Con recovered and grabbed his attacker by the hair and began to pummel her face. Amethyst shape-shifted into her wrestler form and broke free of Frenzy's grasp and preceded to body slam the robot, who shoved her off his person and got her into a headlock, trying to strangle the air out of her breath. Unfortunately for Frenzy, he had forgotten that Gems to not require air to live and ended up being picked up by his target and hurled into Rumble, who was still locked in combat with Garnet.

Meanwhile Lion was still holding off Ravage. The two alien cats bit and slashed at one another in a fanatic battle, both intent on killing the other. Lion smacked Ravage back with a swipe of his claws, but the metallic panther recoiled by biting into his enemy's paw that had struck him, making Lion yowl in pain before biting back, making Ravage release his hold on him. The robotic feline bounced back and tackled Lion into the sand and readied to sink his teeth into Lion's neck, but the pink cat let out a powerful roar that hurled the panther right into the pile that was made of his fellow cassettes.

"Let's get the slag outta here!" Rumble said to the others in panic

"Y'a don't have to tell me twice!" Frenzy replied as the trio took off to find their master

"Yeah you better run!" Amethyst shouted at the fleeing robots

"Come on, we have to keep Soundwave from getting to Pearl and the children!" Garnet ordered

"Who are these guys anyway Garnet?" the shorter Gem asked "And how do you and Pearl know them?"

"I'll tell you if we managed to survive" her leader answered before the three warriors gave chase

"Slow 'em down Rumble!" Frenzy shouted as they ran

"Got it!" his fellow cassette said

With that, Rumble stopped in his tracks and started to pound on the ground with his hammers, making the earth shake violently in the process. Garnet and the other Gems stopped and looked up to see a large rockslide coming down upon them, burying them under a pile of massive stones.

"Rust in pieces y'a fraggers!" Rumble laughed before taking off with Frenzy and Ravage to find their master

* * *

Meanwhile back with Steven, Pearl and Connie, they tried to escape the fight by fleeing into town. All the while neither the half-Gem and his friend still had no idea what exactly was going on.

"Pearl what is that thing?!" Steven questioned "Why is it trying to kill us?"

"I'll explain everything as soon as we get somewhere safe" Pearl answered

Just as they reached the edge of town, Soundwave suddenly dropped down from the sky above them; causing a shockwave from his landing that knock the trio fall to their knees in the process. Pearl rose back to her feet and summoned her weapon.

"Steven, you and Connie have to get somewhere safe!" she told the children as she took a defensive stance "I'll try to slow him down!"

"I'm not leaving you Pearl!" Steven shot back

The Decepticon's shoulder cannon suddenly activated and fired upon the group, luckily Steven managed to summon his bubble around his two friends and deflect the laser blast from striking them. Soundwave then began to pound on the bubble with his fists, snapping the boy's strength to keep his defenses up with every hit.

"I—I c-can't keep this up!" he said in pain "he's break through any second"

"Steven!" Connie and Pearl cried out in fear

With one last strong punch, Soundwave managed to shatter Steven's bubble, leaving the poor boy feeling wearing drained of energy. Connie held her friend in her arms as Pearl put herself between the children and the robot.

"_**Soundwave Superior, Crystal Gems Inferior!"**_ the alien machine declared

"We'll see about that!" Pearl retorted in an aggressive tone

Suddenly, a laser blast sailed through the air before striking the robot in the back, making him loose his balance. Pearl took this opportunity to run up to the damaged Cybertronian and strike his face with her blade, breaking his visor in the process. Soundwave swung his arm at the Gem, however Pearl managed to duck stab her spear through arm, leaving a deep cut in his machinery. The robot then took his other hand and snatched Pearl off of the ground only to slam her back down with the force of a bomb, knocking her out in the process. Soundwave weakly got back up and turned around to see who or what had hit him. It was then that he saw three familiar vehicles speeding toward him, none of which were allies. At that same time, he saw his three minions running from the temple and toward him. Knowing that he could not fight both the Gems and his faction enemy's in this state, he allowed his warriors to transform back into their cassette forms and return to within his body before flying off from the area.

"Pearl…" Steven moaned in pain as he tried to wake up his mentor as he tried his best not to black out

The three cars that scared away Soundwave continued to drive up to Steven and the others. Once they had reached them, they suddenly began to transform just as their attacker did revealing three new robots, this did not sit well with Connie at all.

"Go away!" she shouted in both fear and anger, clutching Steven tightly as she did

"Relax kid, we ain't the bad guy's" one of the machines said "Are you and friends ok?"

"Why should you care? Your friend just tried to kill us!" the young girl replied harshly

"Soundwave ain't no friend of ours" the other robot replied "he's a-"

Just as the robot spoke, he noticed Pearl still lying knocked out on the ground, making him gasp in shock at the sight of her.

"By Primus—look at what it is Ironhide!" he said as pointed at her "It's a Gem!"

"Y'er kidd'in me…" the first robot said under his breath in shock

"What should we do with it?" the third robot questioned

"We do the same thing that—_thing_ did to our people back when their kind tried to take us over" the first robot answered coldly "Slag it!"

"Ironhide, stand down!" a powerful voice bellowed

The robots turned around to see a large red semi-truck driving up to them, making the trio stand at attention. The semi-truck then transformed into a robot that towered over the first three, but yet his intimidating size, Steven could almost sense that this new robot was a noble machine. The larger robot walked up to the portly boy and his friends and kneeled down to their level.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding from my men, the last time we encountered Gems…it wasn't on the best of terms" he explained gently "My name is Optimus Prime, and these are my fellow Autobots. We've come to help"


	3. The Autobots

Chapter Three: The Autobots

* * *

With one powerful roar, Lion blew away the rocks that had buried Garnet, Amethyst and himself. What Rumble had thought was a good idea to end the trio was more of a minor annoyance then anything else; however it still angered the shorter Gem none the less.

"I swear when I get my hands on those walking toasters, I'll pull them apart!" she declared in rage

"We need to stay focused Amethyst; Soundwave's minions are trying to return to him" her leader explained "We need to get to them before that happens!"

"But they've already got a head start, we'll never catch them in time!" the purple Gem replied

It was then that they heard a low growl from Lion; the two Crystal Gems looked over to see the pink cat motioning to his back with his head. Quickly understanding what he was trying to do, they jumped onto his back. The warrior cat then sped off in the direction the villainous machines where headed, ready for a second round with the invaders.

* * *

Steven and Connie continued to look upon the giant robot that had identified itself as Optimus Prime in awe, even though they were still terrified of the machine and his companions. It was about that time that Pearl regained concussions and looked upon the robot herself, however her reaction was not of wonder but of shock.

"You!" she shouted in a mix of rage and horror "It can't be!"

"I thought you looked familiar" Optimus replied "It's Pearl isn't it? Are you alright?"

"Like you would care!" Pearl spat back with venom in her voice "No doubt you're here to finish want Soundwave started!"

"You can't talk to Prime like that missy!" Ironhide defended

Optimus merely raised his hand to silently tell his second in command to stand down, allowing the Gem to continue.

"I'm not going to let you hurt Steven or anyone on this planet so long as I'm alive!" the Crystal Gem declared as she summoned her weapon once more

"Pearl, wait!" Steven asked "I don't think these guys are with the other robot!"

"Of course they are Steven!" Pearl shot back "He was with Soundwave long ago when we-"

"What? Tried to conquer our world?!" Ironhide shouted as he cut her off

"Ironhide!" Optimus shouted

"You know how many buddies I lost when your kind came to our world?!" the Autobot said harshly, ignoring his leaders order "more then I lost in the great war!"

"That's Enough!" the Prime commanded in a booming voice, making everyone instantly fall silent "For the last time Ironhide: Stand. Down"

The old Autobout let 'hmph!' before backing down. As much as he hated the Gems, he still respected his leader enough to finally hold off from his outbursts, for now at least.

"Can someone please explain what is going on?!" Steven demanded "We've been beat up by giant robots all day, so before we get into another fight, can you please tell us why you wanna hurt us?!"

Optimus paused upon hearing that. He did not mean to frighten the child or his friend nor did he want them to pick another battle between the two races again. So he stepped back a bit and gave them their space before speaking.

"As I said before, my men and I do not wish to harm you" he began "But the one you know as Soundwave is part of a faction of wicked Cybertronians called the Decepticons who are lead by Megatron"

"Megatron's on Earth?!" Pearl shouted in fear "How is that even possible?!"

"He arrived on Earth the same way we did" Prime continued "Eons ago when our great war had caused our very home planet Cybertron to die from our long conflict, we Autobots were forced to abandon our home and find a new planet in which to thrive, but Megatron and his army attempted to keep us from leaving and during the battle our two ships where flung a vortex that threw us onto your world four million years ago. We remained in stasis until we where finally freed and your war with the Decepticons began anew on your world"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Pearl questioned further "The last time we saw you, you and Megatron were allies and you weren't called Optimus Prime back then, as I recall your name is Orion Pax"

"While it is true that we were once friends, but circumstances came between us when he revealed his true nature" the Prime explained "In the end, I became a Prime while he became a tyrant"

"How do you even know these guys anyway Pearl?" Steven asked "You keep talking to them like you've met them all before and why did that Ironhide guy say you tried to conquer their world?"

The snow white Gem didn't know how to respond to the boy's question, while she did want to tell him the truth of how their two races had met in the past, she couldn't bring herself to telling the boy the whole truth. Suddenly, a loud roar broke then tension, causing both parties to look away from one another and see Garnet and Amethyst riding on Lion towards them.

"More Cybertronians!" Garnet declared as she readied herself for another battle

"Garnet wait, these ones are good guys!" Steven said as he put himself between the two groups

"I remember you as well" Optimus mentioned "You where part of the invasion as well, does that must mean Rose Quartz is here as well?"

Steven was taken aback when he heard his mother's name mentioned by Prime.

"How do you know my mom?" he asked

"Rose Quartz is your mother?" the Autobot leader replied, clearly surprised by that

"_Was_ his mother" Pearl sadly corrected

"Oh…I see…" Prime said slowly, understanding what she meant by that "I am truly sorry for your loss"

"Don't you dare say that! Not after what happened before!" Pearl shouted in a sudden rage "The last time we met, you tried to—"

"Will you all just stop?!" Steven suddenly exclaimed in anger, making the Gems jump "Why won't anyone of you just tell me what happened?!"

Both the Autobots and the Gems were saddened by what they had done to the boy, but what hurt them more was telling him the truth.

"Steven…long before we ever came to Earth…you mother, Garnet and I as well as an armada of Gems attempted to conquer Cybertron" Pearl began slowly "and Rose was…"

She couldn't finish that sentence.

"My mom was what?" Steven begged, as he on the verge of tears

Before any of the Gems could answer, the Autobot leader spoke first

"Your mother was the one who lead the attack on my planet" Optimus solemnly finished

* * *

Back at the Kindergarten, the Decepticons were working around the cloak to make sure the facility was up and running once more. After the Seekers and several other Cons had gathered enough Energon form the Cons Headquarters, the Constructicons were then summoned and were immediately put to work on building energy cables throughout the Kindergarten for the Energon to flow throughout it once the machine was ready. Meanwhile Megatron had left in order to fetch something or rather someone who he believed could help put this ancient tech back into working condition.

Peridot was also very busy with reconstruction of the Kindergarten as well. After getting clearance from the Diamonds themselves with working with the Gems former adversaries, she was working non-stop to put the once great facility back to the way it was before the war on Earth had destroyed it.

However, that goal was a bit hard to achieve when certain giant robots keep getting in her way.

"You idiot, you could've damaged the external generators!" she scolded Starscream from her view screen

"You should refrain from speaking to me in such a tone you polymorphic freak of nature!" the Air Commander shout back "I am the future leader of the Decepticons and I will not be treated in such a—Ack!"

The Decepticons second in command felt a powerful shock course through him as the very floor under his feet sent a painful electric jolt throughout his entire body, causing him to fall to his knees in agony. He looked back up at Peridot's view screen to see the green Gem smirking smugly back down at him.

"Oops, I must have tripped the systems circuits by accident, I'm _sooo _sorry!" she apologized in a sarcastic tone

"Why you little-"

"Starscream, enough!" Megatron commanded as he entered the control center "I will not tolerate fighting with our new ally!"

Starscream let out a frustrated growl as he got up from off of the floor. Just then the robotic tyrant received a message from his communications officer, more then likely telling him that his mission was a success.

"Soundwave, report" he ordered

"_**Megatron, The mission has failed. Extensive damage taken**_" Soundwave informed him via his comlink "_**Autobot interference had occurred. Requesting reinforcements!**_"

"You will have them at once" his master replied "And this time, I want them all dead!"

"Why is it that whenever I fail you treat it like a horrific sin, but when Soundwave fails you, you're oh so forgiving of him?" his second in command sneered

"Because he fails me much less then you ever have!" Megatron snarled "But if you're so eager to prove yourself to me, then you will join the reinforcements and destroy these renegade Gems and the Autobots!"

"A simple enough task" Starscream replied before walking toward the control center's exit

"One I'm sure you'll find a way to mess up" his leader said in a low tone of voice, but still loud enough for the Seeker to hear

With that Starscream exited the room, leaving the former gladiator alone with the Home-World Gem.

"How are the repairs going?" he questioned

"Faster then expected I must say. Your Constructicons have done a rather marvelous job at restoring power to 46.21% to the Kindergarten so far" Peridot answered "However, it will count for nothing if I can't get these internal systems up and running properly"

"Then you should fortunate that I called in someone to assist you" Megatron said before hearing the platform activate again "Ah, here he comes now"

The platform descended down to the control room, allowing the new Con to enter it. He was large purple machine with a large cannon for his left arm and a single unblinking optic for a face. Even though she was half a galaxy away from Earth, she felt a chill crawl up her back.

"Allow me to introduce you to the Decepticons lead scientist Peridot" Megatron began "This…is Shockwave"


	4. Then and Now

Chapter Four: Then and Now

* * *

After coming to an uneasy agreement, both the Autobots and the Crystal Gems formed an alliance in order to figure out why Soundwave had attacked the alien warriors, however the Gems where not open to the idea of allowing the alien robots near the temple, so it was decided that they would work together on neutral ground. It was then that Steven picked what he considered a perfect spot for the two groups to make a temporary base of operations: His father's car wash. Despite picking out the new location for the two aliens races temporary HQ, Steven had become more sullen and withdrawn after hearing about his mother's and the Gem's past as invaders and it was starting to concern both his guardians and his best friend even more by the second.

"So…their living cars?" Greg asked as he looked at the four vehicles that were before him "are you sure about that? 'Cause they just look like, y'a know...regular cars to me"

"Their robots in disguise" Connie assured before looking over to the cars "You guys don't have to stay like that you know, you can change"

The cars stayed silent, making Greg start to wonder if his son's friend had received a head injury, making the girl feel feel embarrassed. Suddenly, Garnet walked behind Ironhide and summoned her gauntlet; she then proceeded to punch the Autobot's side, making the old solider let out a yelp in both surprise and pain.

"What in the frag is wrong with y'a?!" the old machine scolded before realizing that he just blew his team's cover "Aw scrap…"

"Way to blow our cover 'Hide" Jazz spoke up

"Hey the Gem was the one that started it" the Autobot second in command shot back before adjusting one of his mirrors to look at her "Why for the love of Primus would y'a do such a thing in the first place?"

"You made Connie look like a fool" the leader of the Crystal Gems replied

"Our apologizes sir" Optimus said to Greg who was in complete shock at the sight of the talking vehicles before him "We Autobots prefer to keep a low profile at all time"

"Talking cars…" was all that Greg could manage out of his mouth "their…their talking cars…"

"Technically we're robots from a distant planet" Prowl corrected

"Uh, ok—so what's your story?" the retired rocker asked, clearly just going along with it at this point

"Be careful dad, they might not tell you everything" Steven replied in a sharp tone before walking

His farther, Connie and the two groups of aliens watched as the boy walked over to the edge of the asphalt of the carwash and sat down to look at the beach, keeping his distance from everyone around him.

"What's wrong with Steven?" Greg inquired with concern

"He found out something…bad about us today" Pearl answered in a somber tone "And about Rose to…"

Greg didn't need further explanation then that. In his time with Rose, Greg had heard some of her war stories from both the rebellion and bit of her time serving the Gem Home-World as well and they were not the most pleasant of tales either; so for his son to hear about something from his mother's past must have greatly shaken him.

"I'll go talk to him" he said as he prepared to walk over to Steven

"If I may Mr. Universe, I would like to speak to the boy" Optimus suddenly asked

At first Greg and the Gems didn't know where he was going with this, but considering that they couldn't find the right words to explain his mother's past to him, perhaps the leader of the Autobots could get through to him. With a silent nod from the former rock-star, the Prime drove up to were Steven was sitting and parked himself next to the portly boy. Steven only gave the robot a quick yet somber glance before looking back at the bay, to which to two sat in silence for two or three minutes before Optimus finally spoke.

"Sometimes I forget how beautiful this world is" he said "Earth may not be my home, but I care for it as much as I did for Cybertron"

"My mom loved Earth more then she did Home-World" Steven replied slowly "She turned on her own people to protect it from them"

"A hard choice I would imagine" Optimus answered "One that I know all to well"

"But why didn't see feel that way when she attacked your world?" the boy asked "Why would she even do something like that?"

"I believe it was not her choice to make" the Prime continued

"How do you know that?" the portly boy inquired "weren't you guys like enemies?"

"True the war between my people and your mothers was brutal, but there was more to that conflict then most Gems and Cybertronians know of" the Autobot leader explained "it was the final days of the war and the Gems were preparing for their last attempt to conquer Cybertron…"

* * *

_**Cybertron, the past…**_

Orion Pax fell to the floor as the dropship rocked violently from the impact of the laser fire that was bearing down on them. The former clerk got back to his feet and attempted to mentally ready himself for the mission at hand, while the other soldiers around him snickered at his mishap. The Gem invasion happened so fast that neither the council nor even Zeta Prime himself was able to coordinate a counter-attack, leading the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians in their first attack on the planet. However, while their so-called leaders did nothing during the initial attack; another Cybertronian took command of the situation and through his tactical genius, managed to beat back the invaders from gaining a foothold on their home world and drive them back to their armada that was currently stationed over the planet.

A warrior who Orion Pax would follow into any battle without any hesitation.

A warrior named Megatron.

After the former gladiator had managed to rally the people of Cybertron against the invading army, Zeta Prime stepped in and took control of the situation; however Megatron knew that the only way this was to end was if they stopped the invasion at its source. So against the orders of the Prime, he gathered up his most trusted allies and his fiercest warriors (which were only Orion and two others) before they commandeered a dropship in order to board the Gem's flagship and kill the leader of the invasion: Rose Quartz.

However, that was easier said then done.

As they approached the Gem flagship, Orion looked out the window to see a battle raging all around them. Cybertronian warships and flyers clashed with the Gem's fighters and battleships in a collusion of laser fire and explosions. The Gems were currently using their fighters and smaller cruisers to deter fire away from their flagship as it pummeled the surface of Cybertron with its powerful warp cannons in a last-ditch effort to conquer the planet.

"Orion, are you alright?" Megatron asked as he approached him

"I'm fine" the former clerk answered "I'm just nervous"

"I don't blame you, my friend" the former gladiator replied "What we're doing is not only dangerous and what most would consider suicidal—there's also a good chance we'll be arrested from treason even if we manage to succeed for going against Zeta's orders"

"So long as Cybertron is safe then it'll be worth it" Orion said

"Spoken like a true patriot" Megatron answered proudly

"Or an idiot" a low gruff voice mentioned

Orion turned his gaze to the very back of the dropship to see who had said that. It was no surprise that the robot in question was Grimlock, who was currently sitting on a bench, clutching his sword tightly in anticipation of the battle ahead. The leader of the Lighting Strike Coalition never really cared about the politics or words of freedom that Megatron threw around to get more support for his cause, but as long as their was a fight he was stated. The hulking warrior made it no secret that he cared little for Orion Pax; seeing him as nothing more then an annoyance and never understood why the gladiator of Kaon put so much trust in him. While Grimlock was apart of this mission, the rest of his team was currently battling against the Gem's armies that were attempting to lay siege to Cybertron's lunar base.

"I've said it once and I'll say it again Pax: You've got no business being here" the hulking robot said "This is a place only for warriors"

"Leave him be Grimlock" Megatron defended his friend "It doesn't matter if he's a warrior or not, he has shown his courage by simply being here"

"Whatever, but when he dies don't be surprised when I say I told you so" Grimlock grunted

Suddenly, a stray laser sliced into one of the dropship's engines, knocking everyone off balance from the blast.

"What was that Soundwave?!" their leader demanded over the Comm. link

"_**Engine failure. Attempting to stabilize**_" Soundwave answered over the Comm. As he piloted the dropship

"How far are we from the flagship's hanger?" the former landmark asked

"_**Exactly a hundred meters and closing**_" the communications officer replied "_**But**_ _**we**_ _**will not be able to make a proper landing**_"

"We have to get in that ship Soundwave!" Megatron shot back "I don't care if we have to crash this ship-but we have to end this war one way or another!"

"_**As you command**_" Soundwave acknowledged "_**Prepare for crash landing!**_"

Before anyone could prepare for anything, the dropship slammed into the hanger of the Gem's flagship, knocking everyone around within the smaller craft around like ragdolls. As they were being flung around inside the ship, Orion's vision went black.

* * *

"Lady Quartz, we have intruders on hanger nine!" Topaz informed her leader

Rose Quartz was caught off guard upon hearing that, she hadn't expected any of the Cybertronians would be able to get this far; then again this entire race of living machines continued to surprise her at every turn. Ever since they had arrived on this planet, it was defeat after another after their initial attack, however secretly there was a part of her that was glad that they were losing this war.

Rose never wanted to be part of this assault in the first place—let alone lead the attack, now she was losing both soldiers and ships left and right and in truth, she did not feel any rage toward the natives of the planet she laying siege to, they were only protecting their home and she couldn't fault them for doing what was right. She had warned the Diamonds that this would happen, but her advisement fell on deaf ears, for her leaders were too concerned with getting their hands on the precious energy source that flowed through Cybertron no matter how high the cost was. Now she was here, watching her fleet fall into chaos with the entire Cybertronian military bearing down on them from the command bridge of her ship.

"What are your orders ma'am?" Topaz asked again, breaking Rose out of her train of thoughts

"Send a security team down there and appeared them at once. You may join them if you wish Topaz" she ordered "I want them detained for questioning-do not kill them unless absolutely necessary"

As Topaz gave the order, Rose's right-hand Gem Pearl entered the command bridge alongside the general's smaller friends Ruby and Sapphire and judging by the solemn looks on their faces, they had nothing good to report.

"Rose…" Pearl began hesitantly "Yellow Diamond wishes to speak with you"

"On screen" her leader said

As ordered, Pearl activated the ship's holovid, allowing Rose and the other Gems to see the image of the head of one of their leaders glaring down at them.

"Report" Yellow Diamond coldly commanded

"My lord we are taking heavy losses!" Rose replied "The Cybertronians are to strong for our forces to overcome. I suggest an immediate retreat before our entire fleet is-!"

"You will do no such thing!" her master snapped "This planet's resource of Energon will give our race the power we need to further extend our empire—and I will not allow neither your cowardice nor your compassion jeopardize this mission!"

"But my lord—"

"You will not run! Do you understand?" Yellow Diamond continued harshly "This—I Command!"

The hologram switched off, leaving Rose feeling more trapped then before.

* * *

"Orion, are you alright?"

The former clerk's optics slowly returned, allowing him to look up and see his friend looking down at him with relief in his eyes.

"Orion—thank Primus you still function!" Megatron said happily as he helped him up "are you hurt?"

"A little scratched up, but I'm fine" Orion assured as he got back to his feet

As the he looked around his surroundings, Orion saw that he had been pulled out of the damaged dropship thanks to Megatron's help. He saw that both Soundwave and Grimlock had also survived the crash and that Soundwave had summoned his minions as well.

"We need to work fast" the former gladiator informed his men "Rumble, I want you and your group to stay here and defend the dropship—see if you can repair it if you can as well"

"Got it boss!" Rumbled answered with a salute

"Soundwave, I want you to shut down those warp cannons however you can" Megatron continued before looking over to Grimlock "Grimlock, I want you to find the ship's engine room and dismantle it! Don't let anything stand in your way!"

"Sure whatever, so long as I get to slag some Gems along the way" the warrior said as he and Soundwave headed off to fulfill their tasks

"What about me Megatron?" Orion inquired

"You and I are going to find Rose Quartz and end this war" his friend explained

Suddenly, a squad of Gem warriors burst into the hanger with their weapons at the ready.

"By order of Rose Quartz, surrender now or we will open fire!" one of the Gems commanded

Suddenly, Frenzy pulled out on his blaster opened fire on the Gems which was quickly followed by the rest of his team. During the firefight between Soundwave's minions and the Gem's, Orion and Megatron took cover behind the dropship.

"Go! We'll cover you!" Rumble called out to them

"That won't be necessary Rumble" his leader answered "I'll handle this"

Megatron then transformed into his tank form and rolled out into the open were the Gems drew their fire on him. While the Gem's laser fire ripped away at his metallic outer plating, the former gladiator aimed his turret at the ceiling. With everything he had, he fired his cannon at the ceiling above his attacking. The resulting debris that fell from above crushed the Gems underneath its weight. Once the threat had been stopped, Megatron transformed back into his robot form which was now covered in deep cuts and gashes. Orion quickly pulled his friend back behind the dropship for cover in case of another attack, fearing they would go their leader's now weakened state.

"Orion…" Megatron wheezed out through the pain "You have to finish this…"

"But can't take the bridge by myself!" the former clerk replied

"You must!" Megatron demanded "For the sake of Cybertron and its future—you have to end this war!"

Despite the fear building up in his spark, Orion gathered up his courage and gave his friend a confidant nod before taking off down a nearby corridor, ready to put a stop to his world's invasion once and for all.

* * *

It was all falling apart for the Gem fleet.

With every hour, Rose watched as the armada crumbled before her and there was no way she could stop it at this point. As she watched her fleet's ships explode for fall helplessly to the planet's surface, she could almost hear the final screams of the fellow Gems as their ships were being destroyed. A majority of the fighters had fallen, the attack on the lunar base ended in total disaster and they were now down to at least seven heavily damaged cruisers while her ship had taken serious punishment as well.

"My lady, we have breach in the engine room!" Ruby reported as she watched a view screen "It's a Cybertronian—he's tearing the engines apart with his bare hands!"

"Our warp cannons are being shut down!" Pearl exclaimed as she looked at a holographic imagine of Soundwave destroying the ship's weapons system

"Ruby, Sapphire, I need you to get down the engine room and stop whatever's attacking our engines" Rose ordered "You know what we have to do"

The two smaller Gems nodded in understanding, silently understanding what she meant by that. The duo touched hands, quickly synchronizing and fusing into Garnet, but before they could carry out their mission, a giant robot stepped into the command center with his weapon at the ready. Pearl and Garnet quickly put themselves between their leader and the alien machine with their weapons at the ready, however with a simple gesture; Rose silently told her two friends to stand down.

"You've come to kill me, haven't you?" she asked in a strangely calm tone of voice

"I do not wish to harm you at all" Orion answered as he aimed his rifle at her head "But if you do not surrender-I will be forced to!"

"I don't blame you know—your kind I mean" Rose said, changing the subject "we attacked your world, killed millions of your own and for what? All for resources you have. You were only trying to protect yourselves and we didn't even bother to try to open peace talks between us"

Despite keeping his gun trained on her, Orion could here the sincerity in her voice.

"If you don't want to be here, then leave!" the former clerk argued

"I would love nothing more then to depart and leave your planet in peace" the Gem leader answered "But my leaders, the Diamonds, will stop at nothing to get their hands on your planet's Energon"

It was then that Orion lowered his weapon, letting his reasoning overrule his inner solider.

"How do we stop this?" he finally asked

"I might have a way, but it is a risky gambit" Rose began "I believe that if the Diamonds see me fall in battle then they'll truly see that this is a lost cause"

"Why you?" the robot inquired

"She is one our people's greatest general's. The Diamonds need her to rally their armies for campaigns" Garnet explained "If she is seen defeated in battle, then they'll truly understand that your people are a forced to reckoned with"

"You can't be serious Rose!" Pearl exclaimed in anger "You can't trust that—thing! And I don't watch you get shot!"

The taller Gem gently put her hands on her friend's shoulders and kissed her forehead, assuring her that everything would be alright.

"If we don't do this Pearl, then we'll all die" she told her "and I refuse to see you or anyone else suffer for this blunder. Now I need you to head down to the communication room and send a mission to the remaining ships. Tell them we're retreating and then I want you to be first escape pod off of this ship, do you understand?"

Despite the tears that were falling from her face, Pearl nodded in understanding before setting off to begin her task while Garnet stayed behind, knoing that she would be needed very soon to watch over her friend's gem. Orion then readied his rifle once more, aiming directly at the general's head.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he hesitantly asked

"If it means the protection of your world, then yes" Rose answered with a warm smile "What is your name solider?"

"Orion, Orion Pax" he answered as put his finger on the trigger

"Thank you, Orion" the pin-haired warrior thanked as she closed her eyes

And with that, the alien machine fired.

* * *

"…after I had shot Rose Quartz, I quickly regrouped with Megatron and the others and escaped on the dropship" Optimus continued with his tale "It wasn't until after the war that I discovered that Gem's could regenerate their physical bodies"

"So my mom knew she would come back and Megatron would think she was dead" Steven pieced together "What happened when you guys returned to your home"

"We we're hailed as heroes—despite my inner reservations of what I had done" the Prime answered "Megatron used this opportunity to gain more followers to his cause. He also had Soundwave secretly download the schematics to the Gem's warp cannon technology, a weapon he would use on the Autobots during the war"

As the leader of the Autobots had told his story to the boy, both his soldiers and Steven's friends and family had gathered around hear his tale of what had transpired on the finale day of the short yet brutal conflict. One such person was Ironhide, who upon hearing rose's selfless act moved him; however he kept his strong façade up in front of those around him.

"Even though I did not Rose as well as your friends do Steven, I believe their was more to her then meets the eye" Optimus said

"Yes…there was…" Pearl mentioned under her breath a tear fell down her cheek as she remembered her beloved leader

"So you see Steven, despite your two races not having the best history together; I would love nothing more then for us to begin anew" the Autobot furthered "As friends…"

"I'm all for it" the portly boy happily agreed before looking over to his guardians "what about you guys?"

"Sure, why not, these guys seem pretty cool to me" Amethyst answered

"I swore to fight in the name of the Earth in your mothers name and I will continue to do so" Pearl added on "Even alongside the Autobots"

"I'm down for it" was all Garnet had to say

"Awesome!" the boy cheered "Get ready Deceptijerks—cause the CrystalBots are gonna take you down!"

"The CrystalBots?" Jazz repeated in confusion

"Just let him have his fun" Amethyst deadpanned

* * *

On the forest filled outskirts of Beach City, Soundwave and his minions were busy repairing themselves after their failed attempt to kill the Gems and waiting for the arrival of their reinforcements. Just then, the communications officer heard the sound of a jet engine roaring toward him from the sky above, he looked up to see a familiar multi-colored jet flying down to him before transforming into the last machine he wanted to see right now.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen" Starscream mocked "If only Megatron could see you now"

"_**Will be fully repaired in-**_"

"Save it Soundwave, you've slaged up this mission enough!" the air commander snapped "You are to return to base for repairs. Fortunately for you, I will stay here and succeed were you have failed!"

"You mean _we'll _succeed, Starscream" a voice harshly corrected

The two Cons turned their attention toward the new voice and saw five new robots step out of the shadows. Unfortunately for both the Autobots and the Crystal Gems, it was five of probably the most savage Decepticons under Megatron's command.

"The cavalry has arrived" Onslaught announced as he and the other Combaticons approached them "Or should I say; the executioners"


	5. Fusion vs Combinder

A/N: I've been meaning to bring this up and I keep forgetting to, but to those of you still wondering what Transformers cannon this is fallowing, it's a combination of the G1 Era with a dash of the Cybertron games from High Moon as well. Anyway, now that that's cleared up, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter Five: Fusion vs Combineder

* * *

Starscream looked out from the hill where he and the Combaticons where standing upon and down at the little beachside town as the sunset over the horizon and let out a sneer in disgust. This mission was beneath him in every aspect, but he wanted to show his foolish leader that he could triumph over both the Gems and the Autobots and prove once at for all that he was truly Megatron's superior. While their commanding officer observed the town, the Combaticons were busy forming a plan of attack.

"Alright, once we figure out the Autobots and the Gems location, Vortex and Blastoff will assist Starscream with an aerial assault while Brawl keep's them boxed in with an arterially barrage from here" Onslaught explained to his men "Swindle and I will—"

"Belay that order Onslaught, I am the only one giving orders here!" the Air Commander cut him off "And this plan of yours reeks of failure!"

"Yeah, you would know what failure smells like, Starscream" Swindle said with a laugh which was joined by his comrades

"Enough!" the Decepticon's second in command snapped "Looking for the Gems and the Autobots will take to long, so we'll just draw them out instead"

"And just how do you propose we do that, oh fearless leader?" Blastoff asked sarcastically

"We're going to burn this entire city to the ground with the power of Bruticus!" Starscream answered in a dramatic voice

Onslaught was dumbstruck by his leader's idea, he knew Starscream could be idiotic, but to just outright have them combined and destroy a whole town that they assume their enemies where still hiding and blow their cover in the process was beyond moronic—even by Starscream's standards.

"Have you blown a fraggin' gasket Starscream?" the leader of the Combaticons shouted "Megatron told us to keep a low profile!"

"Well Megatron's not here, is he?" the silver-tongued Decepticon said darkly as he raised his Null Ray to Onslaught's face "I trust I've made myself clear"

Onslaught let out an irritated sigh before giving into Starscream's order.

"Combaticons, combined into Bruticus!" he ordered to the rest of his team

* * *

After Optimus had shared his experience during the Gem war, both the Autobots and the Crystal Gems had started to warm up to one another. Pearl and Prowl had begun to connect over their common goal of law and order and their devotion to their leaders. Jazz's smooth and laid back attitude mixed well with Amethyst's personality and the two enjoyed kicking back and listening to some music. Garnet and Ironhide didn't really talk per say, but they had a silent understanding between one another and the leader of the Crystal Gems merely leaned against the old soldier's side and watched both her friends and his interacting with one another and made a soft smile at the sight before her. As for Steven and Connie, they had since bonded with the Prime, who was currently regaling the children with stories of the golden age of Cybertron as they sat crossed-legged in front of his vehicle form while Greg stood next to them, still amazed the alien machine he was looking at.

"Gems and Cybertronians being friends; never thought I'd see the day" Ironhide said

"Agreed" Garnet replied "But as peaceful as this is, Soundwave's more then likely returned to Megatron, and you know what that means"

"Yeah, I do…" the old warrior answered slowly "But we have no idea were the Cons are hiding out"

"Doesn't mean we can't go looking for him" the Gem's leader rebottled

"Garnet's right Ironhide, we should at least try to find Soundwave" Pearl added on "He did take some serious damage, he may not have gone far"

"Ah, let him go cry to Megadork" Amethyst yawned as she laid across Jazz's hood "Their going to come back here anyway; I say we wait for them here and waste 'em when they show up"

"Amethyst, that's a horrible idea!" Pearl scolded "the amount of human casualties during the battle would be astronomical!"

"I agree with both you and Garnet, Pearl" Optimus spoke up "We cannot stay here any longer, we must at least try to find where Soundwave has run off to before the Decepticons return here in greater numbers"

"And we still don't know where Bumblebee and Ciffjumper are" Prowl added on solemnly "Or even if there still alive or not…"

"As well what Megatron's real endgame is" Ironhide continued further

"So what should we do?" Steven asked

The gem's looked at one another with concern on their faces. Even though they didn't say anything, the half-Gem already had an idea as to what they were already thinking.

"You don't want me to go…" he said in a dejected voice

"Oh Steven it's not like that" Pearl comforted him with a hug "But these Decepticons are unlike anything we've you've faced before, if the Autobots hadn't arrived when they did, Soundwave might've killed us all"

"And you have no idea what Megatron is capable of" Jazz mentioned

"Besides, you have an important mission of your own" Garnet informed him "The Decepticons will be coming back here, and when they do they'll kill everyone they find. Steven, you need to get everyone somewhere safe until we manage to stop Megatron"

Even though he still didn't like the idea, deep down the half-Gem knew that they were right. Steven then felt something gently take hold of his hand, he looked down to see Connie's hand in his own. The portly boy smiled warmly at his friend, to which she smiled back with an added blush as well. However, just as his smile came, it quickly went as well.

"Connie, I think you should go home" he told her in a firm yet caring tone

"What? No, I'm not leaving you!" she protested

Before the argument could go any further, a low rumble was heard coming from the sky, the two teams looked up just in time to see a multicolored F-16 jet rocket over the town at an incredible speed before banking left and making a sharp turn back around. While the Autobots already knew who this was, the Gems only figured it out when they saw the purple insignias on the jet's wings that this was no friend of theirs.

"It's Starscream!" Ironhide declared

As the jet made a few more low-flying passes over Beach City; which of course drew out its citizens from their homes. As the Decepticon made its firth pass over the town, it suddenly stopped and transformed into its robot form, scaring the now awestruck people of the beach-side town.

"Hear me Autobots and Crystal Gems!" Starscream shouted down at the town below him "Today you have doomed both yourselves and this entire town!"

"What's that snake yammering on about?" the Autobot's second in command asked

"Nothing good that's for sure" Prowl replied

Suddenly, the ground beneath Beach City began to shake violently. At first it felt like a low tremor, but soon it slowly grew stronger and stronger until it felt like the very earth below them was going to break apart under their feet. Just then, a massive shadow began to blanket Beach City under its shroud like a sudden eclipse had just occurred. The people—both human and alien alike soon saw what was looming over the town. It was a massive Decepticon, dwarfing all four of the Autobots together and judging back the look in its red optics, it looked ready to destroy everything in its path.

"Behold your destroyer puny fleshlings!" the Air Commander announced dramatically "Tremble before the might of Bruticus!"

The Gems and the people of Beach City looked upon the behemoth robot in absolute horror, not knowing how to deal with this situation. With their secret out, Optimus and his soldiers transformed into their robot forms, ready to do what they could in aiding the Gems against a foe even they could not best alone. The giant robot the hunched forward and raised the two gun turrets on it's back upwards, making them rain down a barrage of cannon fire from them down onto Beach City.

"What is that thing?!" Greg exclaimed in a panic

"It's Bruticus" Optimus answered "He's of the most powerful combineders under Megatron's command, and he won't stop until this town is nothing but ash!"

"How are we supposed to fight that thing?" Pearl questioned with fear in her voice

"We could radio in the Aerialbots for help" Prowl said "They should be able get here in about a thirty-minutes"

"This town ain't gonna last thirty-_**seconds**_ against tall, dark and gruesome!" Jazz shot back

It was then that Garnet formed a battle plan in her mind before speaking up.

"Optimus, I need you and the Autobots to help Pearl and Steven rescue as many people you can" she informed the robotic leader "Amethyst and I will hold off Bruticus"

"How are you going to do that?" Ironhide questioned

"They may be able to combined their power to become stronger" the leader of the Gems answered as she glanced over to Amethyst "But so do we"

"Garnet, you can't be seriously thinking of fusing again!" Pearl accused "You'll to unstable too—"

"I know Pearl, but if we can just get Sugilite to lure Bruticus away from the town, then we can beat him" Garnet defended before another round of shells rocked the city "Besides, we don't have a lot of options right now"

Pearl looked out to the destruction around her; she knew her leader was right. While this was going on, Steven had his own people to take care of.

"Lion, take Connie and my dad back to the temple" Steven said to his pet "You guys will be safe there"

"Wait, Steven—"Connie attempted to argue

The young girl's words were cut off when the magical cat hoisted both her and Steven's farther unto his back before quickly speeding off in the direction of the Gem's home, all the while they kept their eyes on the young hero. The Autobots then morphed back into their vehicle forms in order to begin their rescue operations. Pearl climbed into passenger side of Prowl while Steven hopped into the driver side of Prime's truck form.

"You guys take care of yourselves, ok?" Steven told Garnet and Amethyst

"Don't worry Steven; we'll be fine" Garnet reassured "

With that, Optimus and the others drove off into the fray to begin their rescue operation while the two remaining Gems readied themselves for their fusion.

* * *

Starscream laughed in sheer joy as he watched the small town being reduced to rubble before him as Bruticus continued his assault while he hovered over the destruction. Even if the Autobots and Gems somehow managed to escape the devastation, the Decepticons second in command still enjoyed watching the human suffer dearly. Amidst the chaos, the seeker noticed a familiar set of vehicles driving from building to building rescuing humans from the hell that was raining down on them.

"There Bruticus!" he shouted to the titan as he pointed to the cars "Its Optimus Prime and his lackeys! Crush them!"

"Gladly!" the combineder replied as he raised a foot to step on them

Just as the giant robot was about to stomp the Autobots and the Gems, a flash of dark light erupted upwards into the sky on the far edge of town. The light distracted the behemoth machine long enough for Optimus the humans into his trailer speed off to find others. The dark light faded away to reveal a four-armed giant with dark purple skin who was currently glaring back at him through her giant pair of sunglasses.

"Yo, Tin-Man!" Sugilite called out as pointed in his direction "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Bruticus turned his attention away from the town and toward the fusion. He had faced off with many other giant foes before, but something told the massive Decepticon that this giant woman was unlike his other opponents he had faced in the past. As the combinder turned away from his duties, the Air Commander grew incredibly impatient with the giant.

"Ignore her you mechanical moron!" he shouted at the giant machine as flew up to his face "I command you to destroy Optimus Prime!"

"If you wanna kill him so bad, then do it yourself!" Bruticus snarled before swatting the seeker to the ground in order to focus on his new target

The two giants faced off with one another from across the burning ruins of Beach City as they silently readied themselves for the upcoming battle. Bruticus suddenly rushed at his opponent, crushing buildings under his feet as he charged at Sugilite, but just as he close enough to his target as he did, the fusion got under him and grabbed hold of him. The fusion then hoisted him into the air before using all of her strength to hurl him into the ocean.

Bruticus hit the water with the force of an atom bomb, causing massive waves to come crashing down onto the town and while it put out most of fires, it still did a lot of damage of its own. As the combineder rose back to his feet, Sugilite was already charging at him and punched him across the face, making him stumble back even further into the sea. Bruticus quickly corrected himself and delivered a powerful blow of his own to the fusion's stomach that made her double over in pain. He then grabbed her by the throat and smashed his free fist into her jaw before letting go.

"Ha! Is that all you got?" Bruticus mocked

"I'm just getting started, baby!" Sugilite defiantly replied

Upon saying that, Sugilite summoned her wrecking ball, much to her enemy's surprise. With one good swing of her weapon, she knocked Bruticus sideways, making him tumble into the water that now surrounded them both. As giant robot rose back up, the fusion came up from behind him and wrapped the cord of the wrecking ball around his neck, allowing her to start pounding away and his back with her bottom arms. Bruticus quickly activated the helicopter blades that were attached to his left arm in order to cut the cord that was he caught in.

He then spun around—morphing his right hand into a flamethrower as he did—and proceeded to spray a volley of flames into Sugilite's face, blinding her in the process. The combinder morphed his hand back and began to send one powerful blow after another while his opponent was temporarily blinded. With one more fist at the ready he prepared to send in crashing down on her forehead and end this fight, but just as he threw it, Sugilite caught it with one of her many hands.

With a wicked grin on her face, she suddenly twisted his captured arm behind his and used her three other free limbs to hold him down as she bite into his shoulder, making him cry out in pain as she did. With all his strength, Bruticus broke free of her grasp and knocked her off of his person. The giant machine took hold her head in both his hands and headbutted her, putting her in a daze.

"Your good" the combineder said before punching the Gem in the face again "But I'm better"

With a rage-filled battle cry, Sugiliate sprang charged at her opponent in an angry haze. She tackled him, sending them both down underwater as she did. As the two titans fell into deeper water, the fusion began to send punch after punch to Bruticus's face until he kicked her off of himself. Sugiliate corrected herself while Bruticus jumped back to his feet. The two giants lunged at one another more, each with a fist that collided with other upon impact.

The sheer force of combined punches sent a shockwave throughout the ocean that sent both combatants flying backwards from the blow. Sugiliate recovered first and rushed at Bruticus, only to be slashed across the face by his helicopter blades, breaking her sunglasses as he did. In a blind fury, the giant woman reached out with her teeth and bit down onto the combinder's arm, making him cry out in pain—which only came out as a flurry as bubbles.

Bruticus started to hit the fusion repeatedly over the head with his other hand until she finally let go. The combinder took this opportunity to lunge at her once more, knocking her into more shallow water—at least by their standards. Once they where above the surface, the giant machined ignited his flamethrower again, however Sugiliate was prepared this time and quickly shielded her face from the flames with her upper arms. Using one of her free under arms, she managed to grab hold of the flamethrower and turn it back on her attacker's face, setting his face ablaze.

While Bruticus tried desperately to put the flames out on his face, Sugiliate gathered up every fiber of her strength into her right upper and lower fists and delivered a powerful uppercut that sent Bruticus flying back onto the beach and making him land flat on his back.

"Now, what was all that junk about being better then me?" she mockingly asked as she pinned him to the ground under her foot

* * *

Starscream grunted in pain as he picked himself off of the ground. After Bruticus had knocked him to the ground, he was knocked into temporary stasis before coming back online. The entire mission had become a complete and total failure at this point; there was no way he could stop both the Autobots and the Crystal Gems on his own. As he considered what exactly to tell Megatron that would result in the least amount of pain to befall on him, the Air Commander saw something unusual out of the corner of his optics.

It was a young human girl and an older man riding on what looked like a giant pink cat—a lion he believed they where called. Starscream then noticed that the trio where rushing toward the Gem's temple. The seeker's lips stretched into a sinister smile as a new plan formed in his head.

"_Perhaps there's a way to salvage this mission after all_" he thought to himself before transforming into his jet form and taking flight

* * *

Despite her best attempts, Connie couldn't help but be worried about Steven. Even though she couldn't see Beach City from where she was now, she knew that the situation probably was pretty dire. Her mother had called her a little while ago, clearly aware as to what was going on and demanded to know where she was during the chaos. Connie gave her a half-truth of sorts, she told her that she was at Steven's house and that she was safe and that there was no need for either her or her father to come get her before hanging up the phone.

The young girl looked over to Greg, who sat by the window and watched the smoke from Beach City rise into the fading light's sky. The former rock star glanced over to the child and gave her a forced smile to try to ease her fears, but she knew better. Lion curled up against the front door, as if he was waiting for his master to return.

"Don't worry Connie, Steven's with the Gems and the Autobots, he'll be ok" he assured her

Connie had a suspicion that what he said was more to assure himself more then her. Suddenly without warning, a giant metal fist came crashing through the roof of the house. The fist pulled back and revealed the Decepticon known as Starscream looking down at them with malice in his optics. Lion sprang to his feet and let out a fierce snarl at the intruder before leaping at the alien machine, only to be smacked into the fridge with one strong backhand from their attacker; knocking him unconscious upon hitting it.

"Hello my dear…" Starscream greeted darkly as he reached out to her

* * *

In the time that Steven and others had began their rescue operation, they had successfully managed to save every single person living in the city—granted they all suffered some form of injuries way or another, but for the most part they were safe. The people they found where escorted by him and Pearl into Optimus's trailer for shelter and when he began to run out of space, Ironhide, Jazz and Prowl opened their doors to the wounded. Even though the townspeople where safe, Steven couldn't help but feel upset by the site of the place where he had grown up being reduced to rubble.

As he rode inside of Optimus with Pearl now riding the passenger side, the portly boy noticed a large shadow covering the sky above them. He looked out of the driver's side window to see Bruticus falling down toward after being thrown by Sugiliate.

"Optimus move!" he shouted

The Prime and his fellow didn't need to be told twice and gunned it until they where out of the falling Decepticon's path. Once he hit the ground with an earth-shaking hit, he broke apart into the Combaticons, who were now too damaged to even try to merge again. The fusion then approached the five machines with a victorious look on her face.

"You thought I was play'in—now look at y'a!" Sugiliate said to the five robots "I dare y'a to merge again! I double-dare you mother—"

"That's enough!" a voice ordered "This fights ends now!"

The collective groups looked up to see none other then Starscream hovering over the town, however it was who he had in each of his hands that really got the Gems and the Autobots attention: Connie and Greg.

"After all…" he continued smugly "We wouldn't want me to loose my grip now would we?"

"No, Connie! Dad!" Steven shouted in a panic as he jumped out of Optimus

"Wait, Steven!" Pearl called out as she fallowed him out

"Let them go!" the half-Gem commanded

"Very poor choice of words, boy!" the seeker shot back "Tell that—thing—to stand down or you'll scraping up the remains of these two humans off of the pavement!"

"Don't trust him Steven; he ain't noth'in but a lair!" Ironhide warned

Even from where Steven was standing, he could see the fear in both Connie and his father's eyes as they looked down at them. Steven slowly turned to Sugiliate, who already knew what he was going to say.

"Awe no! No way—I ain't defusing again!" she snapped

"Sugiliate please…" the boy begged as tears began to run down his cheeks

The rage seemed to leave the giant fusion as she looked down at the boy her two selves helped to raise. With a silent nod, Sugiliate separated back into Garnet and Amethyst, who were exhausted from their union. The autobots could only look on, they where still packed full of survivors and were unable to change forms.

"It's done…" Pearl said in a defeated tone to the Decepticon "Now release them this instant!"

"You should have listened to that old fool!" Starscream exclaimed with an insane laugh "Combaticons, retreat!"

"NO!" Steven screamed in horror

Starscream transformed into his jet form, now placing his captives in his cockpit as he did before rocketing off into the sky and away from the area with the Combaticons fallowing behind him. Steven could only watch in disbelief as his best friend and his farther where whisked away by the Decepticon to who knows where, leaving behind a destroyed town and the sense of guilt hanging over Steven's head as did.

The weight of his shame caused Steven to collapse to his knees in a broken heap as the flames from the destroyed buildings grew higher. Pearl held the boy in her arms as he wept for what he had just lost.


	6. The Ark

Chapter Six: The Ark

Steven had hit rock bottom. All his life he wanted to be the hero that always saved the day, but now he felt as though he couldn't protect anyone from even so much as a bee. His home town was in smoking ruins; two of his friends were exhausted due to their fusion and worst all the Decepticons had escaped while taking both his farther and the girl he cared deeply for as hostages. Now as he rode on Lion's back, he could fell something that he was pretty sure he was going to fell more often in his days as a hero: defeat. He glanced over to his caregivers, who traveled on foot alongside the robot cars. Despite Garnet and Amethyst's weakened state, they fought through the pain and continued to walk.

After the destruction of Beach City, Optimus lead an exodus of the fallen city's civilians to somewhere safe, though he did not specify to the Gems as to where they were going yet. While Steven and the others where ok with following the Autobot's to a safer location, the rest of now refugees of the destroyed town did not share the same enthusiasm.

"Alright that's it! Stop this stupid truck right now!" Lars demanded as he began to pound on the wall of the inside of the trailer "I want out and I want some answers!"

Several other people started to shout in agreement with the teenager, which was soon heard by the other survivors that where inside of Prowl, Jazz and Ironhide who also began to voice their complaints. The Autobots and the Gems came to a halt, giving the people a chance to climb out of the alien vehicles and from what the two groups of heroes could see no one was happy.

"We demand to know why our city is gone!" the mayor ordered Garnet as he stormed up to her—to which he quickly backed down "Um, please?"

"Why did our homes just get wasted by giant robots?" Lars shouted

"And are they in league with the polymorphic rocks?" Renaldo added on with his camera phone in hand

Just then, the Autobots began to change into their robot forms, allowing the people of Beach City to see them as they really where. There were a few awestruck gasps among the crowd, but for the most part they only looked up at the robots with contempt, unfazed by their appearance due to their experiences with the Crystal Gems.

"People of Beach City, my name is Optimus Prime" the leader of the Autobots announced to the crowd "I am truly sorry for what has happened to your town but—"

"You and your robo-buddies wrecked our home!" Mr. Smiley accused

"The Decepticons ain't no friends of ours!" Ironhide answered

"We don't care! You brought you little war to our town and now its nothing but a pile of ash!" Mayor Dewey exclaimed before taking in what he had just said "Gah! I'm the mayor of a pile of ash!"

As the crowd began to turn on the alien machines, Steven quickly got off on Lion and ran through the angry mob before putting himself between them and the Autobots.

"Everybody stop!" he commanded as he threw his arms into the air "Optimus and the other Autobots were only trying to save you, and this how you repay them?!"

The angry mob quieted down as the half-Gem continued with his words.

"It doesn't matter if Beach City is gone, what matters is that we're still here!" Steven furthered "I lost my dad and my best friend today, but I'm gonna keep going and so should you!"

"Steven is right" Optimus added on as he stepped forward "I am truly sorry for what my people's war has done to your homes, but we must pull through this defeat and look forward to the future if we are to attain victory. I swear to you all that the Autobots and I will do everything to make sure your city is rebuilt, but for now you must trust must me and follow me to somewhere you can be safe"

The crow of people began to take in both Steven and Optimus's words. Soon their anger faded away as it gave way to an even greater feeling that filled their hearts: Hope. The people of the once great Beach City let out a cheer while the Gems looked at the boy with pride, but deep down, Steven's feelings of failure still resonated within him as he wondered where Starscream had carried his farther and Connie off to.

* * *

Greg's head was spinning with fear and confusion as he and Connie were currently locked inside of the killer robot being sent off to who knows where. While the former rock-star was scared for both himself and wherever his currently son was, he knew he had to keep himself together in order to look strong for Connie, however from what he saw of the girl that was trapped alongside him, he saw not a weeping child, but a girl with a strong defiant look on her face.

"Hey you-Starfreak!" she shouted at robot planes console, hitting as she did "let us go right now or I swear I'll—"

"First of all child, it's Star_**Scream**_" the Air Commander coldly corrected "and secondly—"

Starscream suddenly flipped upside down and opened up the cockpit, letting his captives see the miles of water below them. Hit it not been for the seatbelts that the wicked robot had forced them into when he transformed, they would've both plummeted to their deaths. The Decepticons second in command let the humans dangle upside down for several seconds before speaking again.

"—If you so much as say something I don't like, then you two will be going for a swim!" he threatened "Do I make myself clear?"

"Uh-huh!" was all Greg could say

"Good" Starscream said as he flipped back over and closed the cockpit "Now shut up! I have a call to make"

With that, he activated his COM-link in order to contact his leader. As he did, the leader of the Combaticons switch on his as well in order to overhear what exactly what the coward as going to say to their leader.

"This had better be good news Starscream" a low growling voice asked harshly over the COM

"_That must be Megatron_" Connie surmised in her mind

"Before you say anything Megatron, I just want to say that it was all the Combaticons fault!" the Air Commander accused

"Oh no—you are not dragging us down with you Starscream!" Onslaught shot back as he overheard the conversation on his COM "If you had listened to my plan we would've had crushed the Gems and the Autobots and—"

"SILENCE!" Megatron's voice boomed, making both the humans and Cons jump in fright "I'm going to assume that you've all collectively failed in your mission. You had better give me an excellent excuse as to why I shouldn't rip your sparks from your chests!"

"But lord Megatron—I have good news!" his second in command defended "We managed to destroy the Crystal Gems home and I have successfully captured two of the Gems allies!"

"And you brilliant idea was to bring them to the Kindergarten?" Megatron scolded "You blundering buffoon! You'll bring the Autobots and the Gems right to us if you haven't already!"

Connie was surprised when she heard the word Kindergarten. Steven had once told her that it was not only the birthplace of Amethyst, but also where the Homeworld Gems grew an army that would've killed the Earth in the process of its creation. If the Decepticons had plans of their own for the Kindergarten, Connie could assume that nothing good would come from it.

"Then what should I do with them?" Starscream sheepishly asked

"Take them back to our base and lock them up, they may be of some use" the tyrant ordered "And you and the Combaticons are going to stay there until our plan is complete, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, lord Megatron" Onslaught answered on behalf of everyone

The COM-link went silent on Megatron's end, allowing the Air Commander to grumble a few less then kind words about his leader without fearing for his life. Meanwhile his hostages began to fear what fate would befall them once they arrived at the Decepticon's HQ.

* * *

Megatron let out an irritated growl after he shut off his COM-link. He knew it was a bad idea to allow Starscream the lead in this assignment, but he wanted to prove a point to his second in command and he stuck by the decision even if it did end in failure. The warlord of Kaon was so close to victory that he could almost taste it and he would be thrown to the pit then let Starscream or anyone else—be they Autobot or Gem—take it away from him.

The alliance with Peridot was running smoothly, the Constructicons had managed to repair the damage done to the injectors and thanks to the Energon they where pouring into it, the Kindergarten was nearly at full power. Once that was complete, the former gladiator would enact the second phase of his master plan and then the universe would be as good as his to rule.

As he looked over the vast fields of his soon to be soldiers, Scrapper approached his master.

"Lord Megatron, we have a problem" he informed him

"What kind of problem?" Megatron asked in an icy tone as he turned to face him

"It's the Energon sir; we simply don't have enough for the Kindergarten, the injectors and ourselves to go around" the leader of the Constructicons hesitantly explained, fearing that he angered his master

Another growl escaped the warlord's lips upon hearing the news; he refused to allow something as lack of rescores stop him from achieving his goal.

"Tell Soundwave to finish with his repairs and to return here at once" Megatron commanded "If it's Energon we need, then I know where to get it!"

* * *

Meanwhile, down below in the Kindergarten's control center, Peridot was busy putting the finishing touches on the completion of the Kindergarten alongside her new associate. While the Homeworld Gem had initially assumed that all Cybertronians were nothing more then hulking war machines, Shockwave appeared to be the exception of that notion. He was a cold, calculating scientist with a passion for creation that Peridot couldn't help but admire, it was a personal pleasure of hers to work alongside someone who knew what she was talking about and could keep up a conversation, rather then just get frustrated and give up like when she was paired with the likes of Jasper.

"There, the external drivers should now be at full capacity" Shockwave said as he looked over

"I didn't think it was possible to get this relic up and running again, but it almost looks good as new" Peridot commented "I can see now why Yellow Diamond was so gung-ho in trying to obtain your planet's Energon so long ago—it works wonders!"

"I remember the war. Your leader used some rather illogical tactics that costs her dearly" the robotic Cyclops pointed out "However, it did give me the opportunity to study Gem anatomy up close"

"From what I've read from our records on the war, Rose Quartz made a tactical error in making a direct attack on your planet without planning ahead—at least that's what Yellow Diamond tells us" the researcher answered "As I always say: clarity of thought—"

"—before rashness of action" Shockwave finished "A saying I myself take to spark as well"

Peridot went silent as she began to inwardly ponder a thought that had been building in the back of her mind ever since her alliance was made with the Decepticons. After giving it some thought, she decided to share some very sensitive information with robotic scientist.

"Shockwave, I've come to the conclusion that you out of all the Decepticons can help me with a certain…project I've been tasked with" she said

Shockwave paused, mentally judging what exactly she was asking of him before finally answering.

"What kind of project?"

On her end of the screen, the Homeworld Gem typed several keys on her computer. Seconds later, several green tubes began to slide down from the control room's ceiling.

"How much do you know about Gem fusion?" she asked

* * *

The people of Beach City (Steven and the Gems included) let out gasps of astonishment as they approached the place of safety Optimus was leading them to. It was a massive Autobot ship that had appeared to be sticking out the side of a mountain and from what they could see, the ship had been longer then any of them had been on Earth.

"What is this place, Optimus?" Pearl asked

"This is our home base, The Ark" the last Prime answered "It was the ship we Autobots used to escape the fall of Cybertron how we arrived on Earth centuries ago"

"Meh, our temple's better" Amethyst mentioned with a shrug

As the group of homeless humans entered the downed ship, they where greeted by the many different faces of several different Autobot's under Optimus's command. The giant robots looked down at their tiny guests with curiosity while the citizen of Beach City could only look up at them in wonder. As they walked further into the robot's home base, Renaldo was busy taking pictures of inch of The Ark and it's occupants for his blog.

"This is amazing!" he cheered "I'll get some major subscribers with this sure!"

However, the boy's dreams were quickly dash when Jazz snatched his camera out his hands and crushed between his forefinger and thumb

"Sorry buddy, but no flash photography" he informed him "We're a bit camera shy"

"You can't hide the truth!" Renaldo declared "I will expose you robo-men for what you are!"

"Should we be worried about him?" Prowl inquired to Pearl

"Not really, from Steven tells me of that boy, he's not really threat" she answered

Meanwhile with Steven, while he was still saddened by recent events, his childish sense of amazement got the better of him.

"Wow, there's more of you guys!" Steven gasped as he smiled

"Yep, more then enough to kick some Decepticon tailpipe!" Ironhide said with a chuckle

"Too bad that hasn't happened yet" Garnet off-handedly mentioned, making the old solider grimace

At that moment, a large white Autobot with a medical insignia on each shoulder approached Optimus and the refugees.

"I'm glad to see you all ok, Optimus" he began "When Telatraan one showed us the damage Bruticus had done to the town, we all feared the worst"

"I'm just lucky we got out of there unharmed, Ratchet" Prime replied as he looked down at the people of Beach City "All of us"

It was then that one of the shorter Autobots noticed the Gems.

"What are Gems doing here?!" the robot demanded as he drew his weapons

Upon hearing that, the Autobots drew their weapons and aimed them at their enemies. The Crystal Gems (with the exception of Steven) summoned their weapons and stood their ground. The sudden stand-off made several of the now homeless humans scream in terror and run for cover throughout The Ark.

"Easy Brawn, their on our side" Prowl said to the robot who first drew his weapon

"Have you all blown a gasket? Their Gems!" another Autobot by the name of Gears shot back "did you all forget the war we had with them?!"

"We didn't, but the Cons are planning something big and we need their help to figure out what it is" Jazz explained

"And they have lost their homes as well" Optimus continued "Until we can help them rebuild their homes, the Crystal Gems and the people of Beach City will be staying with us for the time being"

"Why should we?" a low, gruff voice scoffed

Everyone collectively turned their attention to the far end the ship as a hulking black and tan colored Autobot that towered over even Optimus made his way up to the group. The giant machine carried a long blade in his hand as he currently had slung over his shoulder and he wasn't alone, for walking behind him where four other menacing looking robots who all glared down at the humans is sheer disgust in there optics. Even though they where on the Autobots side, Steven couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by the five giants. The half-Gem then noticed that Pearl and Garnet had tensed up at the sight of the fierce looking machines, like they had met them once before.

"Pearl, who are those guys?" he whispered to his guardian

"They call themselves the Lightning Strike Coalition" Pearl began in a low tone "During the war between our races; those barbarians slaughtered hundreds of Gems in the most brutal ways possible!"

"I say we kick 'em out of The Ark and let 'em find some other hole to hide in" the Coalition's leader said to his superior

"They where made refugees by our conflict with the Decepticons, Grimlock" Optimus argued

"It's a war Prime; people lose their homes and their lives on a daily basis" Grimlock growled back "or maybe you forgot that that little fact when you stranded us all here on this Primus forsaken planet?"

"That's just what I'd expect from you brutes!" Pearl spat in disgust "You and the rest of your coalition are nothing more then a bunch of heartless monsters!"

Grimlock swung his sword off of his shoulder and pointed the tip of his massive blade only inches away from the Gem's nose.

"First off, a Pearl like you should know her place" he started off "Secondly, We aren't the Lightning Strike Coalition anymore…"

With that, the hulking warrior's body transformed into not a vehicle, but a giant robotic T-Rex that let out an ear-splitting roar to announce its dominance. Even though Steven was still a bit frightened of Grimlock, he had to admit seeing a giant robot dinosaur made him a bit giddy on the inside.

"We're the Dinobots!" he finished

"Awesome!" Steven cheered, before getting a look from his caregivers "Uh—I mean, boo on you!"

"And that's the other thing, Optimus" Grimlock continued as he transformed back into his robot form "Your working with our enemies—and not even the best of their species. I mean look them, some lost defective Pearl, this purple midget and don't get me started on that shameless display"

"Hey! What about me?!" Steven demanded

"What _about _you?" the leader of the Dinobots shrugged off, making Steven feel less of himself

"Their staying here and that's final" Prime said harshly "If you don't like it, then leave"

Grimlock and Optimus glared at one another in a silent stand-off, waiting for the other to make a move. Finally the leader of the Dinodots let an irritated growl as he turned and walked away from the group with his cohorts in tow.

"Just keep those humans outta my way" he mentioned as he walked away "Or I might step on them"

"Is he always like that?" Garnet asked Ironhide

"You mean a jerk? Yep" the old Bot answered bluntly "An' he and his boys got worse when they were turned into Dinobots. He an' Prime butt heads on everything, to be honest, I don't know why Optimus keeps those guys around. Then again, better to have them working for us and not the Cons"

"So uh…where will we being staying Mr. Prime sir?" Mayor Dewey inquired

"I'll take care of that Optimus" another Autobot named Wheeljack spoke up before looking down at the group "If you would all follow me, I'll take you somewhere you can get some rest"

The group of homeless humans then followed Wheeljack to a place where they could get some proper sleep for the time being, leaving only the Gems and Steven with the Autobots. However, Garnet had other plans for the boy.

"Steven, I want you to go with them" she told him

"What? But why?!" he whined "I wanna help you guys!"

"I know you do, but you need you need to rest" the Gem's leader replied

"But I wanna save my dad and Connie!" the boy shouted back "I couldn't save them from Starscream or keep Beach City from being destroyed! I have to make things right!"

"I understand your upset Steven, but what happened was not your fault" Prime assured the boy "I saw how calmed down the townspeople. That's something only a true hero can do and I need you to help your friends again. This is still a difficult times and you must guide them through it"

Steven took in the robot's words before giving him a nod in understanding. He then followed the group of humans who were following Wheeljack of their temporary home.

* * *

After another hour or two flying through the skies, Connie and Greg where brought to the Decepticon's home base which was a giant spire that rose from the sea to allow Starscream and the Combaticons to enter it before disappearing into the depths of the oceans once more. Starscream then transformed into his robot form; now holding his human captives in his hands once he was back to this true self.

"So where are we going to put them?" Swindle asked as he looked at their hostages

"I say we just put in 'em in a jar and seal the lid!" Brawl said "It'll save us tons of space"

"That's stupid even for you, Brawl" Vortex scolded

"What? We'll poke holes at the top" the fellow Combaticon reasoned

"Enough! I'm putting them in the holding cell!" Starscream answered

"Are you sure about that Starscream? That's were keeping—"Onslaught attempted to say

"I know who's already in there and I don't care!" the Air Commander cut him off sharply as began to walk away "It's not like these humans can escape the cell"

As Starscream took them to their holding cell, Connie and Greg's minds began to race with what exactly they were about to face in the cell. When the arrived at the room, The Dcepticons second in command then deactivated the force-field before tossing into holding cell and reactivating a wall of purple energy again that sealed them in with whatever was already in there with them.

In the dark of them room, the two captives could only see the shapes of two figures sitting on the ground in the very back of the cell. Suddenly, one of them rose to its feet and approached slowly them approach them, making the two humans begin to back up until their backs were against the force-field.

"Hey, take it easy, we're not gonna hurt you" the larger prisoner assured gently "My name is Bumblebee and this is Cliffjumper, we'll get you guys outta here"


	7. Fallout

Chapter Seven: Fallout

As Steven lay in his small bed, he looked up at the ceiling of The Ark in a failed attempt to try and get some sleep. His mind was still wracked with the guilt over losing his dad and Connie as well being unable to stop the destruction of his hometown. He had to make this right, no matter what happened; he had to see this through to the very end.

After they made their exodus from the ruins of their home to The Ark, the people of the now destroyed Beach City where given their own space by the Autobot named Wheeljack. They were given make-shift beds, food and a place to stay until the threat of the Decepticons had ceased within the confines of of the alien bases closest.

While the now refugees of the fallen town were grateful to the Autobots for their help, they still where greatly saddened over the loss of their homes and places of work. Even though they were without a place to call home, the people of Beach City pulled through the dark times ahead as a group and made due with that they had. While the humans of the town where resting in The Ark, Garnet and the other Gems where working alongside the Autobots to try and figure out Megatron's endgame. Steven wanted to help, but Garnet insisted that he try to get some rest-which was escaping him.

While everyone else slept, Steven and Lion silently crept out of the room and into the main control room, where they found the boy's guardians and the alien machines looking over a massive computer. While the giant robots could merely stand beside the computer, the Gems were standing on its console in order to get a good view of the screen. Steven and Lion kept their distance as they overheard the two teams' conversation.

"Ugh, this is so boring!" Amethyst groaned "Can't we go out and find them ourselves?"

"The 'Cons could be hiding anywhere, Amethyst" Ironhide pointed out "We could look under every rock on the planet and still not find 'em"

"Jazz is right Prime, they could be anywhere" Prowl added as he looked over to his leader "If it's one thing the Decepticons are good at; it's hiding"

"We must remain vigilant, Prowl" Optimus encouraged "We have to hope that Megatron makes a mistake"

"Are you having any luck, Garnet?" Pearl asked her leader

"There's too many possible futures to predict" the fusion replied with a tinge of frustration at her efforts "Whatever the Decepticons are doing, it's creating a multitude of different timelines. There's too many for me to list off"

"Um, hey guys" Steven suddenly spoke up meekly

The group of united aliens turned around to see the young boy and his pet standing behind them, looking up at them with an expression of worry and exhaustion.

"Steven, you should be getting some sleep" Pearl insisted "We'll take of-"

"No, I wanna help!" Steven objected "Please! Even just a little bit; I'll do it if it means we can find Connie and my dad!"

Both the Gems and the Autobots looked among themselves with unease when suddenly Optimus approached Steven and proceeded to kneel down before him.

"Of course, Steven" he said as he lowered his hand in front of the half-Gem

Steven and Lion stepped onto the Primes hand, allowing him to carry them back to the computer and set them down on the consul. Steven gazed in awe at the giant system he and the Gems where now standing on.

"What is this thing, Optimus?" the boy asked

"This is Teletraan-one" Prime explained "It is our ship's main computer and is our key factor in our war against the Decepticons"

"And its been trying to pin-point where they are now" Pearl continued "but so far we've come up with nothing; even Garnet's future-vision can't seem to find them"

A spark of an idea struck Steven's mind. It was total long-shot to say the least, but maybe the Gems and the Autobot's could pull it off.

"What if we had a way to put Teletraan-one and Garnet's future-vision together?" he tentatively theorized "maybe together they can find out what Megatron's up to?"

"Say, that ain't a bad idea, kiddo" Wheeljack agreed "What do you think, Prime?"

"It could be possible, but it could also be dangerous" his leader replied with concern "We could inadvertently hurt Garnet if we tried something like that"

"I'm willing to take that risk" the leader of the Crystal Gems assured with a stern yet confident voice

Optimus nodded in understanding. The Decepticons had to be stopped, and the two teams knew that there would be certain risks that needed to be taken if they were to defeat Megatron and his soldiers.

"Very well then" Prime agreed "But how could we even attempt such a feat?"

"I may have the solution, Optimus" the Autobot scientist said "Just give me an hour and we'll be kicking 'Con tailpipe in no time!"

With that, Wheeljack departed to his lab so that he may work in peace, leaving the others to wonder what exactly he had cooked up in his cybernetic mind. While the others were guessing what the Autobot's scientist was going to build, Steven could only fear and imagine what was happening to Connie and his father right now.

* * *

"...and that's what happened" Connie finished

The young girl let out a sigh in both both depression and exhaustion. For the past half-hour she had been telling Cliffjumper and Bumblebee the chain of events that lead to both her and Greg ending up as cell mates to the pair of giant robots. She told them of her time with Steven and the Crystal Gems, and of her near-death encounter with Soundwave and his minions; as well of the destruction of her home at the iron hands of Bruticus. Needless to say, they were in awe at her amazing tale.

"Wow..." Bumblebee said, flabbergasted by the story "That's...alot to take in"

"Welcome to my world" Greg offhandedly chimed in "I just learn to roll with the punches"

"So what about you guys?" the young girl inquired "I know you're with the Autobots, but how did you end up here?"

"For the past few weeks, the Decepticons had been looking a series of strange events" Cliffjumper began "Soon they discovered an alien energy signature and followed it back to its source"

"So Optimus sent us to spy on the 'Cons to find out what they were up to" Bumblebee continued "We followed them all the way to the Kindergarten, but then we were captured. The last thing I remember was being shot by Starscream's null-ray, and then the next thing I knew, Cliff and I woke up in here"

"Wait, strange events?" the young girl said in confusion as she backtracked "What do you mean?"

"It wasn't much at first, just some minor energy influxes here and there" the yellow-colored scout answered "But things got really weird when the ocean was being pulled into the sky. At first, we thought it was the 'Cons doing, but they were just as confused as we were"

"Lapis!" Connie nearly shouted in realization before explaining "She was another Gem that was trying to use the ocean to get back to her world. Steven helped her out and she put it back"

"Yeah, and it made for the best album cover ever" the former rock star added on before everyone gave him a 'really?' look "what? It did"

It was then that the young girl backtracked in the conversation once more on another major subject.

"We overheard Starscream talking to Megatron about the Kindergarten" Connie said "Do you know why they want it so badly?"

"The Gem Empire built those things for only one purpose" Cliffjumper answered with hint of dread in his voice "To create an army"

Connie and Greg gasped in horror as they suddenly realized what the Decepticons master plan was. If they where right, then Megatron was about to unleash hell on to the entire planet and there was no way they could warn either the Gems or the Autobots.

"We have to find a way out of here..." Connie muttered as the gears in her mind began to turn

* * *

"So what exactly are we look'in at here, Wheeljack?" Ironhide asked

As the robotic scientist had said; in no less then an hour, he returned from his workshop with what looked like a small square shaped helmet that looked like it designed to fit Garnet's head perfectly and had a cord sticking out the back of it in the palm of his giant hand.

"This, Ironhide, is our way of finding the Decepticons" Wheeljack informed him "Garnet puts the helmet on and we attach this cord into Teletraan-One. If I'm right, then her future-vision will boosted by Teletraan-One's systems and together they'll find wherever Megatron and his goons are hiding"

"What do you mean 'if you're right'?" Pearl commented sternly

"I, uh, didn't really have time to test this thing out" Wheeljack admitted sheepishly before bouncing back with confidence "But hey, there's an eighty-five percent chance this will work"

"And the other fifteen percent?" Prowl questioned suspiciously

"Uh...I'd rather not say" the scientist replied meekly

The two teams of aliens looked among themselves with worry. Was it worth risking one of their own to achieve victory? if they did that, then they would be no better then the very enemies they were trying to stop. Knowing that they wouldn't go through it, Garnet stepped forward.

"I'll do it" she said in a firm voice

Even though it was Steven who suggested this plan, he suddenly had second thoughts about the whole thing. He wanted to rescue those who he loved from danger, but if it meant putting another he cared for in the line of fire, then it wasn't worth the risk.

"Wait Garnet, you don't have to do this" Steven offered with pleading eyes "I already lost dad and Connie—I don't wanna lose you to!"

The leader of the Gems gently placed her hand on the boy's cheek, making him looking up at one of three people who raised him with a fear and sadness in his eyes, thinking this might be the last time he would see her alive if this attempted failed horribly.

"I'll be fine, Steven" she assured him in a soft and sincere tone "Trust me"

With a nod in understanding, Steven back away as Wheeljack approached the fusion and handed her the helmet to allow her to place it upon her head while he plugged the helmet's cord into a small input in Teletraan-One's consul. Garnet took in a deep breath and let out out a long, calming exhale; Gems didn't need to breath, but it was more to put her mind and her two inner-selves at ease for what they where about to undertake. With a simple thumbs up, she silently gave the robotic scientist the go-ahead to switch on the power to the helmet while everyone else waited for the outcome with fearful anticipation.

A rush of power surged through Garnet's mind as she opened herself up to Teletraan-One's systems. the with supercomputer's aid, the power of her future-vision was increased ten-fold. Instead of seeing a handful of possible outcomes, she could see thousands upon thousands of futures transpiring all at once. What Teletraan-One had turned the fusion into - god didn't even come close to describing what she was in this moment! Despite all of this power at her fingertips, the Crystal Gem had to keep her mind focused on one task: find the Decepticons.

Soon, her future-vision gave her the answer she was searching for. Garnet could see smoke and fire billowing up into the night's sky as Megatron and his soldiers gathered up cubes of Energon from the wreckage of some sort of facility. Getting the answer she needed, the fusion pulled off the helmet, allowing the others to breath a sigh of relief to see her unharmed.

"I know where they are" she informed them all

The team's mood changed from near hopelessness to joy. They now had a chance to win the day and it came them the moral they needed after such a devastating loss.

"Then lead the way, Garnet!" Optimus commanded in a powerful, yet hopeful voice

"CrystalBots, Roll Out!" Steven shouted, returning to his regular self

* * *

The Keystone nuclear power planet was a large facility that was located out in a remote field several miles away from any major cities. It was built not only to generate power for a majority of the cities within the state, but also helped to construct the raw materials made to create over a dozen nuclear missiles for the U.S during the Cold War. In that time, the staff of the power plant had always thought that the Soviet Union was the only enemy they would have to face, however, they sadly to not anticipate an enemy of a different sort.

When Megatron and his minions attacked the Keystone nuclear power plant, they struck like a furious lightning bolt. The Decepticon's blitzkrieg was fast and deadly and left not a single human left standing. Any of the earthlings they found where quickly turned to piles of ash that blew away upon the night's breeze. It wasn't so much as to keep their arrival a secret; so much as it was a sick sport for the warlord and his troops.

Once the little flesh-creatures were disposed of, the tyrant commanded Soundwave to create Energon cubes for Skywarp, Thundercracker, Blitzwing and Ramjet to fill up. They needed to be quick, for no doubt the Autobots and their new Gem allies would be hunting them after Starscream's blunder. Even though Megatron's victory was almost within his grasp, he had been here many times before; and like all those times before he had tasted defeat instead of the victory he so desperately craved. This time he would make sure that things would be different; and no one—neither Autobot nor Gem—was going to stop him.

"_**Energon collecting is nearly complete, Lord Megatron**_" Soundwave said to him

"Excellent, Soundwave" his master replied "Gather up the cubes and prepare to return to the Kindergarten"

The Decepticons began to gather up the cubes of their precious life-source for transport, ready to use its power to give life to the machine that would lead them to glory. As they where occupied with that task, Soundwave suddenly stopped in his tracks, getting the attention of his master and his cohorts.

"What is it, Soundwave?" his leader demanded

"_**Alert,**_ _**Autobot and Gem presence detected rapidly approaching from the south**_" the communications officer informed him

"I say we take the cubes and split!" Thundercracker suggested hastily

The warlord's response to that suggestion was a raised head toward his minion. But then Megatron stopped midway to hit Thundercracker upside his head and lowered his hand as an idea wormed its way into his servos. He looked over to the now empty power planet with a sinister smile across his lips.

"Perhaps your right, Thundercracker, maybe we should 'spilt'" he darkly mused "Here's what we're going to do…"

* * *

As the Autobots and the Crystal Gems approached the now ruined power plant, they mentally prepared themselves for whatever they where about to run into once they arrived. Alongside the Autobots that had first encountered the Gems at Beach City, they where now joined by Wheeljack, Brawn and Hound.

"So does anybody actuality have a plan, or are we just winging it?" Amethyst as she rode inside of Jazz

"Yeah, we go in and we kick some 'Con tailpipe!" Brawn answered

"Easier said then done, Brawn" Jazz reasoned "The 'Cons may not know where coming, but that won't mean they wouldn't be expecting it"

"Jazz is right, even if we catch them off guard, that won't mean that'll be any easier to take down" Prowl added on as Pearl rode within him

"I still think we should've brought more back-up" Ironhide mentioned as Garnet sat in the driver seat of his vehicle mode

"We couldn't run the risk of spreading ourselves to thin, old friend" Optimus replied who had Steven riding within him "We'll just have to hope that we have enough forces to stop Megatron"

"Besides, nothing can stop the CystalBots!" Steven proclaimed, making his care givers collectively roll their eyes upon hearing that

As the team drove closer to the planet, they heard the low rumbling sound from the dark skies above them. The sound soon grew louder as Steven and the other Gem's poked their heads out of their respective partner's car windows in order to try and find the source of the ever loudening rumbling from above them. As the noise grew louder, Steven began to have an idea as to what exactly the sound was.

"That kind of sounds like…." He started before pieces it together in a gasp of realization "a jet engine!"

The second the half-Gem had said that, four multi-colored jets rocketed down from the clouds above and began to strafe the ground with a wave of laser fire. The Autobots luckily managed to serve and scatter out of the way of the hail of fire that rained down on them. The gems quickly exited their companion's bodies to allow them and the other heroic robots to transform and return fire while they summoned their weapons. The jets flew past them at break-neck speed before splitting into two different groups that went in opposite directions before coming around for another run.

This time, however, the Autobots and the Gems were ready for them. Together, the two united races unleashed a flurry of laser fire back at the Decepticons that they were forced to break off from their second strafe and fly high around the heroic machines and their allies. They had no place to seek cover should the jets make for another go around, so they had to form a protective circle with the Autobots out in front and the Gems in the center of it. They waited with dreaded anticipation for another strike, but nothing came. Suddenly, a single figure floated downward from the sky and landed several meters away from the group. Aside from Steven and Amethyst—everyone knew who this was.

"Megatron…" Optimus growled as his optics narrowed at him

"Prime" the leader of the Decepticons acknowledged with a wicked grin

"Wait, so you're Megatron?" Steven spoke up

"I am _lord_ Megatron, yes" the warlord confirmed with disdain for the child in his voice

"Awesome! Imma deck you in the schonz!" the boy happily announced with a bright smile

"…what?" Megatron asked, clearly confused

The wicked robot had never encountered a flesh creature that had the audacity to speak to him in suck a manner—let a alone a human child for that matter. He was going to look forward to killing that boy in the near future. He then noticed two of the Crystal Gems standing alongside his enemies and was istantly reminded as to who they were.

"I remember you two…" he commented "You both served under Rose Quartz during the invasion? She wouldn't happen to be here, would she?"

"Rose is gone" the leader of the Gems answered coldly "But if she was here, then she would stop your plans like before"

"Stopped them?" Megatron mockingly asked "no, she jumped them further ahead! Had it not been for the Gem invasion of Cybertron, then I may have never gained the support I needed to form the Decepticons or have gained access to your warp cannon technology. So if anything, I should be thanking your precious leader—that is if she wasn't rusting in pieces!"

"You bastard!" Pearl shouted in rage as she attempted to lunge at the giant robot, only to be stopped by Garnet

"Why did you wreck our home, y'a jerk?!" Amethyst demanded

"I needed you out of the way, of course" the tyrant answered simply, getting back on track "And this time neither you nor the Autobots will be able stop me! Soon I shall have a new army to command and with it, I will rule the very galaxy itself!"

"Enough talk; let's get 'em!" Ironhide proclaimed

"Oh by all means attack me, but I don't think you have the time" Megatron informed them with a sly smirk

"Uh, we kinda do" Amethyst pointed

It was then that a flash of a possible future suddenly exploded within Garnet's mind. The fusion saw a massive mushroom cloud rising high into the sky as a sea of nuclear flames washed over the far reaches of Keystone, killing everything in its path.

"No. We don't" Garnet corrected stoically "He's ridged the entire power plant to explode"

A collective gasp of horror escaped the united hero's mouths while Megatron himself could only smile at that.

"And the diodes tumble…" he said sinisterly "the Gem is correct, I have set charges all over the power plant that are set to go off in less then thirty earth minutes. So the choice is simple: stop me and my Decepticons from escaping with the Energon, or try to disarm the bombs"

"Your insane, Megatron!" Optimus shouted in a mixture of shock and rage

"You're a few centuries to late to be asking that question" his former friend replied as he started to rise into the air "the clock is ticking Prime, make your choice"

With that, Optimus and the others watched as Megatron fly into the sky with the rest of his cohorts following close behind him with Energon cubes stored within their jet forms, all the while the warlord laughed in triumph. The Autobot leader didn't have to say a word to the others, for both teams already knew what choice to make. The Autobots quickly turned into their vehicle forms while the Gems all climbed into Optimus's trailer before they raced off toward the power plant at full speed.

Once they reached the plant, the two aliens groups spilt up into teams of two and searched every inch of the facility. For what seemed like ever, they scoured the entire area from the control room right down to the restrooms, but found not so much as a single explosive. After nearly twenty minutes of searching, they met up in the center of the facility.

"We've searched every last inch of this place and still not a trace of a single bomb!" Hound said

"Maybe Megatron was yanking our chains to try and slow us down?" Jazz mentioned

"No. He was telling the truth" Garnet corrected in panic "I can still see the future of the power plant blowing up"

"If that's true then we have less then ten minutes to find those bombs!" Wheeljack answered

"But where else could they be?!" Pearl said in a panic

While the group tried to solve this problem, Steven once again had another thought race through his mind. Maybe both Jazz and Garnet where right. Perhaps Megatron was lying—but not about placing the bombs, but the number of bombs he had placed.

"Maybe instead of a bunch of bombs, we should be looking for just one?" Steven surmised aloud

"Steven may be right—everyone, keep searching!" Optimus commanded

"Wait a minute Optimus, what if instead of leaving a bomb; he _made _a bomb instead?" Wheeljack theorized

"But what could you use to make a bomb out of all this junk?" Amethyst blew off until it finally set in as to where they were "oh yeah, the reactor core…The Reactor Core?!"

"Megatron must've tampered with it to make cause a meltdown!" Prowl shouted in horror

"Wheeljack, scan this entire area for where the core is kept now!" Prime quickly ordered

No sooner had he said that had that the Autobot scientist began scanning the area for any traces of highly concentrated places of radiation. Within seconds of scanning he picked up a massive amount of what he was looking for in the in one the towers on the edge of the facility.

"It's over there, Optimus!" he said, pointing to the tower as he did

In seconds, Optimus transformed back into his vehicle form and drove off toward the tower. As Steven watched the truck drive toward danger, he couldn't help as though know that whatever Prime was about to do it wouldn't be enough to save both everyone here and all of Keystone. It was in that moment that the half-Gem gathered up his courage and ran up behind Prime and grabbed onto the tailgate of the robot's trailer.

"Steven!" his guardians shouted in shocked unison

But it was too late; Optimus was already to far ahead for them to catch up to him. Within minutes, the heroic robot reached the tower that held the core and by his guess, he estimated that he had only five minutes left to dispose of the core before it meltdown. As he changed back into his robotic self, Steven hopped off of the trailer and ran up to Prime's side; much to the Autobot's surprise.

"Go Steven!" he told the boy

"But I can help!" Steven defended

"There's no time! You need to get out of here—now!" Optimus shouted

The Autobot leader then plunged his fist into the side of the tower and ripped out the reactor core, knowing that he had just sped up the time-table of its meltdown, he had to make a choice right then and there.

"I'm going to take this as far as I can away from here before it explodes" he quickly yet calmly explained to the boy "I need you to go back to the others and tell them to leave here and seek cover from the blast"

"But you'll be killed!" the boy objected

The Prime knelt down and gently placed his finger on the half-Gem's shoulder as way of assuring him that everything would be alright.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" the machine told him softly "If I am to become one with the Matrix today so that others may see tomorrow, then it is a price I shall gladly pay"

"I'm not gonna let you die, Optimus!" Steven protested

Once again, another idea emerged in the young hero's mind, and just like the pervious ones—it wouldn't be a long shot, and it may be one neither of them would walk away from. But as the Prime had just said 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'.

* * *

By the time the other Autobots and the rest of the Gems had reached the tower, they saw a faint glimpse of Optimus's vehicle mode driving off in the direction of the rising sun. The trio of Crystal Gems frantically searched the surrounding area for their child, but her was no where to be found.

"We have to go after them!" Pearl said in frenzy before looking at the robots "Can one of you reach him?!"

"There's no time before—"Wheeljack attempted to say

Just then, a bright flash of blinding white light flash outward from where Optimus currently was, blocking out the horizon for several seconds as a loud booming sound echoed throughout the entire area for miles on end. The light was then followed by huge gust of wind that nearly knocked over both groups of aliens as it sped past them. After what seemed like forever, the white died off, revealing a smoking crater off in the far distant as the sun lowly rose over it.

Pearl fell to her knees as the tears flowed down from down from here eyes. She had lost her _**again**_, she had lost her Rose once more and now there was nothing left but ashes of her beloved leader. She felt as helpless and alone as she did when Rose first passed on so that Steven may live, but now Steven was...gone, and nothing she could say or do could bring him back.

Garnet stood still, but it was evident from her shaking fists that her entire body was wracked with sadness and fury like never before. Suddenly, in a fit of raw anger, the fusion summoned her gauntlets had began to pummel the side of the tower that held the core until it tumbled down in a pile of rubble which she then proceeded to smash as she screamed into the heavens above, as if her rage-filled cries would frighten whatever divine being into giving her boy back to her.

Amethyst was in stunned silence at the scene before her. She felt sad, angry, hurt and guilt-ridden all at once. True, she was used to those feelings, but watching the child whom she helped raise be killed right in front of her made those very same feelings hurt worse a thousand times more.

The Gems weren't the only ones feeling despondent; the Autobots were also in state of shock and despair at the sight of their leader whom they had faithfully followed since the start of the war on Cybertron and watch taken away from them without so much as a goodbye. Even through the darkest of hours, Optimus always lightened the way and lead his troops to victory, but in one brief moment, that light was snuffed out. Now the Decepticons were on the verge of winning the century's long war and the Autobots were without a leader.

No one said a word—no one wanted to. It all happened so fast that it almost felt like it was something they imagined. But the proof was there for all to see.

Optimus Prime and Steven Universe were dead…

* * *

**A/N: I know it was recently revealed that Ruby and Sapphire met under different circumstances, but this story was out long before the fourth Steven Bomb came out. I did consider changing it, but I decided against it. in any case, I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter (despite the feels) and sorry for the long hiatus  
**


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